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Mon
Apr 23
2012

Chestnut Square Will Radically Alter the Southeastern Edge of Drexel’s Campus

Take heed. Coming soon, a gateway—a new gateway to University City, thanks to Drexel University, that is.

Current view

Groundbreaking for Chestnut Square, a project projected to cost around $97.6M that aims to transform Chestnut St. between 32nd and 33rd Sts. into a new gateway for Drexel and University City, took place in February. Plans, which include the construction of more than 300K square-feet of mixed-use student housing and retail space, call for a September 2013 completion.

The project will include a 19-story residential tower at the corner of 32nd and Chestnut Streets, with a two-story street-level space that will include retail, restaurants, and a new corner entry into the Barnes and Noble at 33rd and Chestnut. The project will create around 860 new beds for Drexel (multiply housing costs of roughly $8K/year, times 860, and you can begin to see how big the numbers get), in the form of two or four-bedroom units. Development also includes a 14,800 square-foot community center with space for residence life operations, as well as student amenities like a social lounge, fitness center, meeting space, a theater, and laundry facilities.

View from 33rd St., same as above

The student tower, at 32nd St.

Close-up rendering of the development. Burgers will apparently be included.

Designed by architects Robert A.M. Stern (renowned designers who’ve also done work at Georgetown University, and UNC–Chapel Hill), the project is structured by American Campus (AC), the nation’s largest developer, owner and manager of student housing communities, and its American Campus Equity program. AC will pay Drexel through payments made on a 70-year ground lease structure. This will be the third development in the American Campus portfolio in Philadelphia.

And with Homewood Suites, another high-rise development now nearing completion at 41st and Chestnut Sts., the Victorian face of University City is getting a little more vertical.

–Lou Mancinelli

9
COMMENTS
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Posted in University City | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments
  • Guest

    Is there any doubt why Student Debt has grown soured 300 percent in the last 7 years.

  • Stephen Girard

    Drexel’s current housing is inadequate…they have people paying through the nose to sleep in the dorm common areas and in local hotels because they accepted too many people. They’ve caught the expansion bug…just look at the absurd master plan where they have dozens of highrises built over Powelton Yards.

  • http://philadelphiaheights.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/new-housing-and-retail-development-makes-a-new-chestnut-street-gateway-for-drexel/ phl

    Not to brag, but I did a story on this on my blog, http://www.philadelphiaheights.wordpress.com.  OK, maybe a little bragging.

  • Guest

     Nope, and it’s obvious it’s because students and their parents don’t seem to be too intelligent with their money.  Only purchase what you can afford and don’t expect to be able to pay off student loans right away.  Don’t be too proud to work any job you can to pay off your debt/current expenses either.  There’s a difference between being genuinely disadvantaged and being lazy or too stuck up to work, something plenty of people these days would do well to learn.

  • Guest

     These renderings really tend to downplay the height of some of the high-rises being built.  19 stories is pretty damn tall.  Come to think of it, that seems to be the case with almost every rendering for a proposed building.  Either way, the expansion and improvements Temple and now Drexel are doing after Penn’s work over the past few decades will be amazing to watch, and it should benefit the city tremendously.

  • http://www.city-data.com/forum/philadelphia/1304227-philadelphia-2035-a-34.html#post24159092 Philadelphia 2035 – Page 34 – City-Data Forum

    [...] View from 33rd St., same as above The student tower, at 32nd St. Chestnut Square Will Radically Alter the Southeastern Edge of Drexel’s Campus | NakedPhilly [...]

  • http://nakedphilly.com/university-city/dornsife-center-will-provide-valuable-resources-to-the-west-philly-community/ Dornsife Center Will Provide Valuable Resources to the West Philly Community | NakedPhilly

    [...] reputation with projects like the construction of a new business school, and new housing at the $97.6M Chestnut Square, it’s also looking to better its capacities for community [...]

  • http://nakedphilly.com/university-city/septa-rail-yards-to-be-developed-some-day/ Septa Rail Yards To Be Developed Some Day? | NakedPhilly

    [...] with all the changes a few blocks west of 30th Street, from Chestnut Square, a new Drexel business school, to a Spruce Street Plaza, gateway to University City and [...]

  • http://nakedphilly.com/university-city/drexel-will-continue-to-expand-this-time-to-the-east/ Drexel Will Continue to Expand, This Time to the East | NakedPhilly

    [...] as a gateway to University City, which happens to also be the purpose of the school’s $97.6M Chestnut Square project, which included the construction of a new housing tower. New LeBow building across the [...]

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