East Falls : Development News

It might seem impressive enough that Philadelphia University, which was founded in the late 1800s as the Philadelphia Textile School, has chosen to encourage a new form of academic collaboration among its design, engineering and commerce students. According to Debbie Goldberg, the university's director of media relations, "It became clear that collaborative, real-world learning, infused with the liberal arts, are critical skills for our students--as well as competencies that employers need."

It was exactly that philosophy that eventually led the university to create the new College of Design, Engineering and Commerce (DEC), which will be launching in time for the fall 2011 semester. The overarching goal, explains Goldberg, is to "push students to think beyond the boundaries of existing disciplines, and (to) focus on market-driven innovation through teamwork, collaboration and connections with industry partners."

In an effort to put the full force of its economic strength behind the new collaborative college, Philadelphia University is constructing a stunning, $20 million, four-story building, which will be encircled by a perforated metallic structure intended to act as a sun-control screen. The college's design studios, classrooms and workshops will be housed in the new building, which is being designed by the Shepley Bulfinch firm to achieve a LEED-silver designation. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June 10, 2011.

And although the building's forward-thinking exterior design will almost certainly be its singular most attention-grabbing feature, the interior is also being specially designed to encourage collaboration. Instead of housing permanent offices, for instance, removable walls and rolling furniture will be placed throughout. Currently, the 38,500-square-foot building is expected to be complete in the fall of 2012.

Source: Debbie Goldberg, Philadelphia University
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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With multiple local train stops, boutiques, restaurants and entertainment all within walking distance, Manayunk seems to have everything a walk-happy city resident could want. So why does it seem everyone in this Northwest Philadelphia nightlife destination drives? Turns out, the neighborhood was missing one important necessity: a nearby grocery store. This week marked the opening of Main Street Market, a full-service corner grocery providing 'Yunkers access to local coffee, meats and cheeses, and more upscale products than you are likely to find at your average city bodega. Owner Rob Nydick says his inventory walks a fine line.

"We realize there is a very wide demographic in Manayunk, from young professionals to people who have been living there their entire lives so we didn't want to alienate or exclude any of those demographics," says Nydick. "We do have some higher end stuff, imported products, some higher end cheeses. But we also have groceries and staple items. We didn't want to pigeonhole ourselves as being a gourmet shop or a quick stop, we wanted to be as well-rounded as possible."

Nydick and business partner Richard Rivera are no stranger to food sales in Manayunk. The pair own Belvedere Restaurant Group, the company responsible for Terrace Tap Room, Agiato and Agiato Bread Company, all in the Manayunk area. Like many Manayunk properties, the building at 4345 Main Street used to be a retail store. Now, the L-shaped space utilizes two entrances and bifurcates the deli counter from the dry goods, creating an easy flow for foot traffic.

"The building allows us to have entrances on two streets, which gives us great visibility," says Nydick. "There aren't many buildings on Main Street that are that size and that shape so it was a really good fit for us."

Source: Rob Nydick, Main Street Market
Writer: John Steele

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey announced last Tuesday that Pennsylvania would receive $47 million in federal transit and infrastructure grants as part of the Federal Transit Administration's State of Good Repair program. As SEPTA updated its hybrid bus fleet two years ago, the lion's share of the funding went to Pittsburgh's Allegheny County Port Authority for a clean diesel fleet of their own. But SEPTA didn't come away empty handed, receiving $8.1 million for two infrastructure improvements a long time coming.

The first grant will revamp SEPTA's Parkside Bus Loop, helping reconnect this West Philly neighborhood. But the second, more universal improvement will aid in future upgrades. Using $6.4 million, SEPTA will install an asset management system to aid in record-keeping as many of Philadelphia's transit assets come up for repairs.

"A lot of our infrastructure dates back to the early 1900's and were taken over from other private companies," says SEPTA CFO Richard Burnfield. "What the FTA was trying to focus on is knowing what you have out there in the field before you can make an assessment as to what your overall needs are, coming up with a plan for when things should be replaced."

The system will help SEPTA keep better records so when funding is available, the authority can make a more organized, more compelling case for further federal dollars as the fleet is upgraded.

"Right now, we do a very good job of managing our assets so while the records are not as computerized as we'd like them to be, we have so much knowledge within our engineering staff that I feel we make excellent decisions," says Burnfield. "But I think this will help us going forward so we can do a second check on things as our staff reaches retirement."

Source: Richard Burnfield, SEPTA
Writer: John Steele

In science fiction novels and books about the future, a few technologies are boilerplate: flying cars, meals in pill form and the ability to teleport instantly from place to place. National commuter rail company Amtrak took another step toward teleportation on Tuesday with its announcement of a high-speed rail vision plan. In Tuesday's news conference from University City's 30th Street Station, with Governor Ed Rendell on hand, Amtrak officials laid out their goal to create a line with average speeds well over 130 mph, saving passengers between one and two hours on average.

"Amtrak is putting forward a bold vision of a realistic and attainable future that can revolutionize transportation, travel patterns and economic development in the Northeast for generations," says Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.

The plan, entitled A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, proposes a full build-out to be completed by 2040. Its construction, Amtrak says, would create more than 40,000 full-time jobs annually over a 25-year period, building new track, tunnels, bridges, stations, and other infrastructure. Predictably, the cost for such a project is high, $4.7 billion annually over 25 years. But Amtrak's feasibility studies peg the Northeast as a "mega-region" capable of drawing the type of rail traffic to make such an investment profitable. And with some premier legislative voices like New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg and Massachusetts' John Kerry already voicing their support, we may be teleporting out of 30th Street Station sooner than we think.

"Amtrak's High Speed Rail plan will create jobs, cut pollution and help us move towards a modern and reliable transportation system network in the Northeast," said Kerry in a recent statement. "As countries around the world continue to build out their transportation systems, we
cannot afford to fall further behind. This is an important down payment on the massive commitment necessary to bridge our infrastructure gap." 

Source: Joseph Boardman, Amtrak
Writer: John Steele