Plans for University of Pennsylvania South Bank Campus

The University of Pennsylvania plans to construct another 58,000-square-feet of cutting-edge architecture with its new Pennovation Center. The new structure is set to anchor Pennovation Works, a 23-acre industrial site along the Schuylkill River that the university is turning into a research and innovation park, and will add to the University's already impressive portfolio of campus buildings.

Pennovation Works will be built on the former DuPont Marchall Research Laboratories site, a large industrial property along the Schuylkill River that will house the school's new South bank campus. 

The 23-acre industrial site located between 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue served as an automotive paint lab, manufacturing and testing facility for DuPont until 2009, when the factory was shut down.

The property, which includes 250,000 square feet of vacant laboratory, office and warehouse space, was acquired by Penn for $13 million.

Penn’s South Bank campus is the tip of the spear when it comes to recasting underused industrial property on the Lower Schuylkill as a zone for gritty creativity and economic growth.

The university has announced new plans to begin more deliberately transforming this 23-acre former DuPont campus into a buzzing hive of research and entrepreneurship, starting by establishing a new business incubator called the Pennovation Center.

Designed by architecture firm Wallace Roberts and Todd to support entrepreneurial and innovation growth in Philadelphia, the South Bank is an important component of Penn Connects 2.0—an ambitious long-term development strategy that has added almost 3 million square feet of space to Penn’s campus and increased the university’s open space on campus by 25 percent since 2006, when the university embarked on a two-decade expansion plan.

click to enlarge

A 200,000-square-foot incubator and accelerator dubbed the “Pennovation Center” will anchor the university’s campus and will serve as a hub for collaboration and creativity while encouraging the exchange of ideas for innovators from Penn’s departments.

According to a news release, Penn’s flexible project design allows for another 550,000 sq. ft. of new campus space that will be built in phases over the next twenty years.

The school’s long-term campus development strategy to add facilities while expanding the amount of open space it has. Penn has constructed four million square feet of new space on its West Philadelphia campus since 2006. At the same time, it has boosted the amount of open space by 25 percent.

South Bank aims to become a research park supporting entrepreneurs and advances in technology. The development would be multi-phased and will initially concentrate on adding new light industrial and flex-use buildings.  

At build out, up to 1.5 million square feet of new space will be constructed on South Bank.

Penn’s South Bank is very much in sync with Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation’s (PIDC) long-term revitalization plan of the entire Lower Schuylkill River into a 500-acre Innovation District, a Logistics Hub and an Energy Corridor while expanding riverfront green space.

click to enlarge

Penn will release a Request for Proposals for design services to help bring the Pennovation Center to life in a converted industrial building on the property.
  

Ten Skyline Altering Projects Coming to Center City (Part 1)

If you have ever been stuck in mid-day traffic, you know that Philadelphia construction is booming. The signs are everywhere, from exposed steel for super tall skyscrapers in Center City to large cranes for massive apartment complexes on the waterfront. But some of the city’s largest projects are still waiting to get underway. 

Here’s a list of skyline altering development taking place in and around Center City:

Comcast Center for Innovation & Technology 1121 feet    Liberty Property Trust    Foster + Partners
Cira Centre South (FMC Tower)      730 feet      FMC Corporation    Brandywine Realty Trust    Pelli Clarke Pelli
SLS International Hotel & Residences 600 feet    SLS International    Dranoff Properties    Philippe Starck
LoSo Entertainment Center 615 feet     PHL Local Gaming     U.S. Thrill Rides
W Hotel and Residences 582 feet     Starwood Hotels     Cope Linder
1911 Walnut Street 525 feet & 200 feet     Southern Land Company     KingStubbins
Market8 Casino 450 feet     Goldenberg Group     Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority
Riverwalk Apartment Towers 446 feet, 220 feet, 220 feet     NP International     Gensler Associates
MIC Apartment Tower 429 feet     Brickstone Realty     Stantec Architecture
500 Walnut Street Condominiums 380 feet     Scannapieco Development     Cecil Baker + Partners Architects

216-unit Apartment Complex Planned for 4th and Race Street

The City Planning Commission approved developer Priderock Capital Group’s proposal to build a 4-story, 216-unit apartment complex at 4th and Race streets in Old City, despite concerns raised by the Civic Design Review Committee.

The Civic Design Review Committee felt the design for 401 Race Street was overly suburban and not ambitious enough for the most historic acre in the United States.

The 216-unit residential complex will be bounded by 4th, 5th, Race, and Florist streets, just off of Independence Mall.

The site is on its own block, surrounded on various sides by historic Old City, the U.S. Mint, and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Developers had previously proposed building a controversial hotel project on the site.

“This building has to look like an important, civic-minded building… It has got to be a great goddamn building,” said Architectural Committee panelist Cecil Baker.

Nancy Rogo-Trainer, a commissioner and chair of the Civic Design Review Committee said, “The materials in particular are disappointing. It’s really kind of sad when someone building a block from Independence Mall thinks that standard brick is too deluxe a material, too expensive.”

Alan Greenberger, the commission chairman, said he didn’t have any problems with the two variances the developer is seeking, for height and loading.

He also said the prominence of the site may not be “what it’s cracked up to be,” given that the south side of the property faces a solid blank wall across Race Street.

Get more information about the project HERE.

 

Prepare for Two Major Housing Developments on North 5th Street

North 5th Street in Northern Liberties and South Kensington will soon begin to see an influx of new residents, thanks to construction of two major housing projects that were approved by The Philadelphia City Planning Commission earlier this summer.

At 626-636 North 5th Street, US Construction will be constructing 43 residential units with 33 parking spaces and a 1,200-square-foot retail space at the corner of 5th Street and Fairmount Avenue.

The project, designed by JKR Partners, would have a green central courtyard area and an internal drive lane for parking.

It involves mostly three-bedroom, three-bathroom, single-family homes, with five apartments above the retail space on the corner.

Click here to view plan details.

---

Just above the Girard Avenue trolley line at 1213-1241 North 5th Street, developer Sean Frankel is preparing to build out a long-vacant lot with 23 buildings housing 45 residential units.

Plans include a small commercial space at the corner of 5th and Thompson and a public dog park, to be maintained by the tenants, on Orkney Street, which runs southeast between Thompson and Lawrence streets.

The developers are planning to include 33 parking spaces.

Click here to view plan details.  

---

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission approved plans for both projects at the end of July.
   

City Controller Uncovers Electrical Hazards at Philadelphia Schools

After conducting inspections at 20 city schools, the Philadelphia Office of the Controller discovered dangerous building conditions, including electrical and fire hazards. Meanwhile the department uncovered even more risks at 10 other newly inspected schools. The most recent review, which occurred in June 2015, revealed electrical risks, including exposed wires, at 70 percent of the inspected sites.

Three schools – George Washington High School, Bayard Taylor Annex and Dimner Beeber Middle School – had unlocked electrical closets, which have bus bars rated at 600 volts, the report said.

Another troubling discovery: an improperly encased asbestos pipe in the basement hallway at Francis Scott Key Elementary School.

Also 15 of the 20 school buildings reviewed have some type of fire hazard – missing exit signs, hallways blocked with objects or large items in front of fire exit doors, the Controller said.

All but one school had water damage.

Some of the more oft-putting findings included unsanitary and potentially sickening bathroom conditions at four schools – "toilets that appeared to have waste permanently in them" – and cockroaches milling about in a restroom at Central High School.

Butkovitz's office also said damaged masonry and walls, tripping hazards on school grounds, water drainage problems and structural issues were present at many of the 20 schools.

Of the 10 schools inspected in 2008, two are now operating out of different facilities, Samuel S. Fels High School and Juniata Park Elementary School. Despite the move to newer properties, both still had unsafe conditions.

“The School District needs to provide a safe, sanitary learning environment for everyone, including our great teachers who must endure these conditions daily,” said City Controller Alan Butkovitz in a statement.

Click here to view the full report

$56 Million One Ardmore Place Luxury Development

The first phase of a challenging revitalization effort in Ardmore is now closer to fruition as developer Dranoff Properties is preparing to construct an 8-story mixed-use project called One Ardmore Place.

Conveniently located near the Ardmore train station, the $56 million project will transform the township-owned Cricket Avenue parking lot into 121 high-end studio, one, two and three bedroom rental apartments with state-of-the-art amenities and a 24/7 concierge.

10,500 square feet of ground floor retail space, as well as covered parking on two decks with more than 200 parking spaces, will round out the complex.

The project is estimated to create 900 construction jobs and 80 permanent retail jobs and generate around $40 million in annual revenue once construction is completed.

Once the parking garage is complete, it must for the first five years provide the same number of public spots — 133, with four-hour meters — that the Cricket Avenue lot provided, in an agreement reached with local businesses owners, so that they would drop their challenge to the project.

One Ardmore Place will stand at the crossroads of stores, homes and the historic district, where just about everything is within walking distance.

Located on Philadelphia's affluent Main Line, Ardmore is bordered by Wynnewood, Haverford, Gladwyne and Havertown, One Ardmore Place will be the very heart and soul of the town’s revitalization.

Originally unveiled in 2008 as Ardmore Station, the project was scaled back from a $180 million, three-phase development with 335 apartment units and 120,000 square feet of office and retail space, as the economy stumbled.

Pre-construction is already underway with ground breaking slated for later this year.
 

Developer Plans 16-Story Apartment near Drexel Campus

A Drexel University-owned lot at 3201 Race Street will soon have a new life as Radnor Property Group prepares for construction of a new 207-foot apartment building near the 30th Street Station's Amtrak lines, beefing up University City's growing skyline.

The glassy 16-story residential tower, designed by Philadelphia-based Erdy McHenry Architecture, will rise at the corner of 32nd and Race Streets and house 164 market rate rental apartments.

The building will rise above a mixed-use platform that will contain a large childcare facility and a public green space that looks over the train tracks towards Center City.

The project will also include 12 market rate townhomes to the north, a green roof and an underground parking facility with 26 spaces. There are also 61 bike spots and two car share spaces.

The 168,000 square foot complex will maximize green space on the site.

A green roof, with an amenity terrace, is planned, the townhomes will have storm water management systems and it will adhere to sustainability principles in an effort to achieve LEED certification.

The project was born out of a request for proposal from Drexel University for projects geared towards market rate housing and childcare for their staff and the nearby community. 

The childcare facility will be able to accommodate 150 to 164 kids and scholarships will be available to eligible families. There will also be an outdoor green area for the kids to play.

This won't be undergraduate housing; they’ll be marketing the units and homes to young professionals, faculty, staff and graduate student. 122 will be one-bedroom units, with the other 42 being two-bedroom layouts, providing prime views of Center City.

Radnor hopes to get started on the demolition of all structures on the lot later this year and break ground early in 2016. Construction is expected to take 18 months, with the goal of opening in the spring of 2017.