Slated for completion in the spring of 2013, the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology is a $100M 78K sqft state-of-the-art facility currently being constructed on the 3200 block of Walnut Street on Penn’s campus in University City.

In progress

You can see the sign

The project is designed by New York City architects Weiss/Manfredi, the folks who designed Olympic Sculpture Park at the Seattle Art Museum, and managed by the Rhode Island based Gilbane Building Company. According to a Penn website, workers broke ground at the site last year. Its four major components include a 10K sqft next-generation Cleanroom Facility, which will serve as the new home for the Nanofabrication Facility, a 10K sqft underground Nanocharacterization Facility, a large facility for various measurements, plus general laboratories…

Last Fall, we told you about the planned expansion at the Wistar Institute, in the heart of Penn‘s West Philly campus. Over the last six months, a large building in the middle of their Spruce Street complex has been razed, paving the way for the new building, designed by Ballinger.

In the past

Last week

Closer look

By the time the students come back in September, we’re guessing work will be underway on the new building at this site, which will offer a new, ultra-contemporary look to Spruce Street. Hopefully, the construction will move along quickly, inconveniencing pedestrians, cars, and food trucks for as little time as possible.

Rendering of the future

We’ve mentioned the Forgotten Bottom neighborhood a couple of times in the past, but it’s not an area that often shows up on anybody’s radar. The little neighborhood, tucked between Grays Ferry Ave., I-76, and the Schuylkill River, is tricky to find and easy to miss. Along with a few hundred homes, the neighborhood features a newish baseball field, a rather large FedEx building, and the year-old entrance to the Dupont Crescent section of the Schuylkill River Trail.

Neighborhood map

What we don’t see a whole lot of in this neighborhood is residential development, particularly of the new construction variety. So you can imagine our surprise when we noticed three Forgotten Bottom properties, 3536-40 Wharton St., on the zoning docket.

Signs up, too

The same lots, looking

…

When properties become dangerously dilapidated to the point that they may collapse and injure people, the city (eventually) steps in and tears them down and sends the owners the bill. In West Philly, a new program is attempting to step in before the city demolishes 100-year-old Victorian West Philly homes and scores of other dilapidated and vacant homes throughout University City. Project Rehab connects owners with resources they need to rehabilitate their homes into suitable structures, hopefully reducing the number of properties going to sheriff’s sales at the same time.

Tree lined street in West Philly

“The University City District tried to look at a project where we could [rehab distressed properties] without using government money and as little UCD money as possible,” said Ryan Spak of the University City District, (UCD), the folks who developed the initiative. UCD is able to put…

Over the summer, we told you about the newest addition to the University City hospitality scene, a new Homewood Suites hotel. Located at 4109 Walnut St., this new hotel will include 136 suites, which will include kitchenettes. One of the ideas behind the idea of building this hotel is to provide extended-stay accommodations for families, visiting medical professionals, visiting professors, and others.

Back in August, the site looked like this:

Under construction

Earlier this week, this was the scene:

That's progress, right there

Are we jumping out of our seats about the architecture? Not really. Are we encouraged by the additional western development on Walnut St.? Sure. Will hotel guests appreciate their close proximity to Lee’s Hoagie House? Absolutely.

Hulkamania swept the World Wrestling Federation and the nation (yes, it swept the nation) in the early 80s when legendary actor (yes, legendary) and wrestler Hulk Hogan tossed opponents like the Iron Sheik as if they were bags of beer bottles and soda cans being sent out for recycling. Sidebar: It’s interesting how Hogan’s 1984 pinning of the Iranian Iron Sheik during the Reagan administration, serves as metaphor for the vision of America’s conservative elite. But we digress.

This year, the University of Pennsylvania hopes to increase the amount of recycling it throws around (or away) during Recyclemania. PENN is among 600+ campuses nationwide participating in the competition to see which institution of higher learning can achieve the lowest stream waste and the greatest recycling rate. PENN has set its goal for recycling glass, metal, plastic, paper and cardboard three percentage points…