View from the east on Walnut St.

If you’ve found yourself in University City lately, you may have noticed a large building going up right off the corner at 41st and Walnut Sts. Campus Apartments, in cooperation with Upenn, is building a Homewood Suites hotel at 4109 Walnut St. Homewood Suites is a part of the Hilton empire, and this particular location will have 136 suites with separate bedrooms and kitchenettes. This hotel will be an ideal place for individuals or families needing extended-stay accommodations, especially for medical professionals or patients.

What you can expect around the end of this coming school year

The original plan was to construct this hotel at the corner of 40th and Pine Sts. on the site of a historic Italianate mansion and former halfway house that we wrote about last month. After facing serious community opposition, the developers decided to move their project to Walnut St. Even at that site, they had to deal with some locals who did not want to see a well-preserved row home torn down, but the developer won out and construction began last December. Construction is expected to be completed this coming Spring. Once complete, it will be the third large hotel in University City, joining the Sheraton at 36th and Chestnut Sts. and the Inn at Penn at 36th and Walnut Sts.

Locals wanted to preserve the house on the left. Didn't happen.

Campus Apartments, the largest privately held student housing company in the country, manages 29K beds across the country at 70 different colleges and universities. Their company headquarters is just down the street, and they are planning to construct a new 150K sqft. HQ next to the hotel once the project is complete. That building will house Campus Apartments employees and will also have additional space for rent.