higher education : Development News

Do you SEPTA?

Yes, you heard right, SEPTA is now a verb. This is one of many messages SEPTA pushes in its new video campaign "I SEPTA Philly," which features SEPTA riders under the age of 35 discussing how safe, clean, simple to use, sustainable, and affordable SEPTA is. The campaign recognizes that young adults are generally opting to ride mass transit more often and live in cities, as well as the city's rising population of young people.

I SEPTA Philly consists of a mix of on-the-street interviews and submitted videos. Many of the on-the-street interviews were conducted at 15th and Market Sts. and the 40th St. trolley portal. The effort kicked off in early-April, and is expected to last until September. Riders who produce their own videos are entered into a contest to win free SEPTA passes, concert tickets, and even a trip to a music festival in Las Vegas. I SEPTA was created in conjunction with a few radio stations, including KYW Newsradio and Radio 104.5.

Rich DiLullo, SEPTA’s recently retired marketing director who created the campaign, is ecstatic about the chance to market SEPTA to a demographic that studies have shown cares about mass transit. The agency is looking to "increase the awareness of SEPTA and its positive attributes among the younger generations," says DiLullo. He adds that SEPTA is especially eager to reach young adults who grew up in the suburbs with "helicopter parents," or those who chaperoned their children everywhere. DiLullo hopes that I SEPTA can encourage these young adults to be comfortable about riding SEPTA. 

The campaign currently features about 50 SEPTA riders between the ages of 18 and 34. The riders are a racially diverse bunch, although it seems like many of them live in Philadelphia, and not in the suburbs. Once again, this is likely SEPTA recognizing the re-localization trend that resulted in the city’s recent population uptick. DiLullo says he hopes to get about 15 more young adult participants in I SEPTA. SEPTA also maintains a Youth Advisory Counsel, which represents college students in the 18-34 bracket. 

According to DiLullo, Philadelphians over the age of 34 are more likely to have fixed transportation patterns. Conversely, younger adults are less likely to be stereotypical 9-5 commuters because of classes and part-time jobs. It also makes sense that adults between 18 and 34 would be more likely to use mass transit for recreation and shopping. 

This website could be “a real wonderful commentary on Philadelphia,” says DiLullo. 

Source: Rich DiLullo, SEPTA
Writer: Andy Sharpe

The land around the Temple University Regional Rail station has long presented a golden opportunity to give North Philadelphia some much-needed development. After all, SEPTA's fourth busiest train station presents the perfect means of travel for a neighborhood accustomed with poverty and reeling with parking woes created by the influx of students at the nearby university. This is exactly what Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha (APM) had in mind when they broke ground on the Paseo Verde residential, retail, and office development on the former PGW lot at 9th and Berks Sts. on Tuesday.

Paseo Verde, which means "green path" in Spanish, is a $48 million development that will include 120 low and moderate-income residential units for rent and 30,000 sq. ft. of office and retail space. The excitement over this sustainable transit-oriented development (TOD) was palpable at the groundbreaking, as Mayor Nutter, Council President Darrell Clarke, state Senator Shirley Kitchen, and David Walsh, the senior vp of Community Development Banking at JPMorgan Chase all delivered optimistic remarks for this slice of North Philadelphia.

APM was clearly ecstatic to be hosting the groundbreaking for Paseo Verde. Nilda Ruiz, the president and CEO of APM, gushed that the TOD exemplifies a "combination of vision, practicality, and beauty." Jonathan Rose, the head of Paseo Verde’s developer, the Jonathan Rose Company, was also on-hand to serenade the development. Rose told the audience the project would likely be completed in eighteen months, and reiterated his company’s commitment to sustainable development in Philadelphia and across the country.

While the mixed-use development will promote sustainable transportation, it will also be sustainable in other ways. "The building will generate 25 percent less energy than today’s code," said Sara Vernon Sterman, the chief lending officer at The Reinvestment Fund, at the groundbreaking. She added that Paseo Verde will include low-flow water fixtures, solar panels, and white, green, and blue roofs. The white roofs will help to cool down the units, while the green and blue roofs will enable sustainable storm water control. Other sustainable perks will include low-VOC paint and energy-efficient windows.    

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Nilda Ruiz, Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha  

The Broad St. corridor between Spring Garden and Ridge has seen some of the trendiest redevelopment in the city in the past few years, with residential development at Lofts 640 and culinary development at Osteria. It looks like this redevelopment is about to rub off on surrounding blocks. The Regis Group has obtained necessary zoning approvals to convert the erstwhile Paul Green School of Rock into the Brandywine Lofts apartments. Construction is expected to begin shortly at 15th and Brandywine, and the apartments should be up in four to five months.

The design firm JKR Partners, which is also working on a number of other projects across the city including North 28 in Brewerytown and 777 S. Broad, is handling the design elements for the Brandywine Lofts. Glenn Felgoise, the director of marketing at JKR, says the lofts will include 10 apartments on the second and third floors of the old music school. Five of these apartments will be on the second floor, three will be on the third floor, and two will be on both floors.

Felgoise says the first floor will be marked by a parking garage, game room, kitchenette, and garden space for residents. He confirms that each apartment will have its own parking space, and there will also be storage for at least 18 bicycles. The units will be sized from 813 to 1,043 sq. ft., and will include one or two bedrooms and one or two baths. Eight of the apartments will be fitted with decks. No word on price points yet.   

One reason why JKR was chosen to work on Brandywine Lofts is because of its expertise in adaptive re-use. Indeed, the design firm will strive to preserve some of the historical elements of the structure, especially on the second floor. “Units at [the] rear of second floor have exposed heavy timber trusses in space,” he reports. JKR is looking to preserve these trusses.

Given the recent development proposals on North Broad, Brandywine Lofts is in a great location. According to Felgoise, the best perks of the location are access to the Broad Street subway line, the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), and other new and proposed developments on Broad. The proposed Lofts are only one block from N. Broad and two blocks from the Spring Garden subway station. In addition, it will also be just a one-block bike ride to get to the conceptual Spring Garden St. Greenway.    

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Glenn Felgoise, JKR Partners

It's simply amazing the juggernaut that Facebook has become, as you can now check into businesses, comment on Flying Kite articles, and reconnect with (or laugh at) long-lost family and friends. Yet, there's even more, especially for university students in Philadelphia. Campus Apartments, which holds properties in University City, now allows its student tenants to pay their rent through Facebook Connect. Campus Apartments unveiled this service in late January, and is excited with the response, albeit a little afraid of being poked.

Campus Apartments is able to utilize Facebook through a partnership between their existing online payment system, SmartClick, and the social network. Previously, the only way to access SmartClick was by inputting an e-mail address and password, says John Ailor, senior Director of Web and Wireless Technologies at Campus Apartments. Yet, in a sign of how ubiquitous Facebook has become, Campus Apartments decided it would be easier for many residents to simply remain on Facebook to pay their rent.  

Ailor outlines all that students can do via Facebook. They can "make payments, view (the) tenant ledger and submit service requests easily and more quickly than before,” he remarks. Ailor assures that it's far from a complicated process to sign up for the privilege of Facebook rent payment, as it should drag on no longer than a minute. 

While the Facebook perk came only went live just a couple of weeks ago, Ailor boasts that already a few hundred residents used it to pay their February rent. No word on how many of these social networkers live in Campus Apartments' Philadelphia properties. According to Ailor, these several hundred users are among 27,363 active SmartClickers across the country. SmartClick also allows students to pay rent through their app on Android phones. 

Campus Apartments has over a hundred apartments in University City that house pupils at Penn, Drexel, USciences, the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill, and the JNA Institute of the Culinary Arts. Nationwide, Campus Apartments offers student housing in 23 states, including California, Texas, and Michigan. 

The student housing provider reports no complaints about Facebook Connect among the few hundred who have used it so far. For the student Luddites among us, Campus Apartments still offers residents the chance to pay rent by check. Expect to see other student housing firms follow suit with a Facebook payment option. No dislike button needed for this. 

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: John Ailor, Campus Apartments

University City continued to distinguish itself as a viable office and residential alternative to Center City in 2011. In fact, there were a number of exciting groundbreakings and announcements that dealt with new public space, high-rise development, and corridor enhancement between 29th and 43rd Sts, with the promise of more to come in the new year.
 
The past 12 months were especially noteworthy for all the new public spaces in University City. Rail commuters and pedestrians at 30th St. Station got The Porch, which is an outdoor promenade that featured yoga, a farmer's market, life-sized puppets during the month of November. The University of Pennsylvania opened up a new park to help bridge the wedge between University and Center Cities, which offers walking paths and athletic facilities. Finally, the city experimented with a "parklet" in front of the Green Line Café at 43rd and Baltimore, which meant replacing a few parking spots with outdoor seating.
 
University City also found itself in the throes of interesting high-rise development and corridor beautification efforts. University Place Associates finally got the anchor tenant it needed to announce groundbreaking for 2.0 University Place at 41st and Filbert, which is envisioned to be the city's first LEED pre-certified building. Also, public art flourished on Lancaster Ave. from 35th to 40th Sts. as a means to draw attention to the continued re-development of that corridor.
 
If you like what you're hearing, University City District's Prema Gupta should make you hopeful for 2012. Gupta reveals that the University City District received two grants from the city for pedestrian plazas. She says that her group is considering using them at the intersection of Baltimore Ave, Florence Ave., and 48th St., as well as on the University of the Sciences campus at 42nd and Woodland. 

Sources: Prema Gupta, University City District, and all the 2011 Development news-makers in University City 
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Unlike many other local colleges and universities, families of Swarthmore College students often have to go miles out of their way to find lodging. It's not uncommon for these families to have to stay as far away as the Airport area. However, if a proposed new Town Center continues on its path to fruition, those visiting the college or the borough won't have to skip town to find a bed. Swarthmore College has begun the re-routing of utilities to allow for Swarthmore Town Center West, which is a complex slated to include an inn, restaurant and lounge, and re-located campus bookstore. 

The idea of an inn in the borough of Swarthmore gets a lot of people excited, whether they're affiliated with the college or live in town. The college is endeavoring to build a 40-45 room inn, which would be open to anyone visiting Delaware County. "It's an idea that's been discussed and debated for a number of years," offers Marty Spiegel, Swarthmore Borough's town center coordinator. This will "draw more people into downtown (Swarthmore)," he adds. Spiegel  especially covets the increased pedestrian traffic he says this inn will generate.

While the inn has a lot of students and townsfolk talking, so too does the idea of a restaurant and lounge. Spiegel recounts that the community would like a restaurant that is a short and non-treacherous walk for residents, as well as an appropriate gathering place for people to meet and chat. The coordinator says the grades are still out as to whether the restaurant will be formal or casual, as the college is currently embarking on marketing studies to see what kind of eatery would work best.   

Currently, Swarthmore College is moving ball fields to potentially make way for the Town Center. Spiegel estimates that plans for the new complex will be ready for preliminary review and analysis in a few months. If all goes according to plan, he believes construction will commence in 2013, with a possible completion and opening date in 2014.  

If Swarthmore Town Center West does get approved, it could also result in a re-engineering of the Route 320 underpass by SEPTA's Swarthmore Station. "This brings added importance to that issue," says Spiegel, who is concerned about the dangers of existing traffic at the intersection of Swarthmore Borough and College, and the commuter traffic from the station. While the southernmost exit of the college, which stares the underpass down, would have to be removed for the Town Center, the new development would undoubtedly bring increased vehicular traffic. 

Spiegel wants to emphasize his wish that the new complex minimize the need to use a car. He explains that the development is "ideally suited" by being convenient to the center of the borough, the college and the train station. He envisions residents and students walking from the borough and the college to grab some dinner, and visitors taking the train to stay at the inn. 

Source: Marty Spiegel, Swarthmore Borough
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Map art by Alex Forbes

Since 2004, the Camden Technology Center has been a community center of sorts, situated on the campus of Camden County College and flanked by Rutgers University and Rowan University's Camden campuses.

That anchor was solidified last Thursday with the opening of the new Barnes and Noble University District Bookstore and Starbucks Cafe, the first bookstore of its kind in the nation to serve three institutions of higher education.

"There are many people and organizations that love Camden and continue to invest their time and money into projects that will turn the city around," says Camden County College President Raymond Yannuzzi via email.

The project was an investment of $570,000, including $350,000 from Barnes and Noble. It came to be when the contract with Camden County College's prior bookstore service provider expired in February. The school requested proposals from national bookstore operators and Barnes and Noble won out, renovating the existing 13,500-square-foot space that now features a 51-seat Starbucks Cafe. The current contract with Barnes and Noble runs through 2015.

Barnes and Noble has a track record of this sort of thing in the Northeast. In 2006 it opened its first joint bookstore in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pa., serving King's College and Wilkes University.

Yannuzzi says the first few days have been a success sales wise, "doing well above expectations with customer counts increasing daily." The bookstore fronts busy Cooper Street and is in a building that has a seven-floor public parking garage.

"The foot traffic not only includes students of the three institutions, but also local business people, community neighbors and government officials who now have a casual, comfortable place to meet and conduct business," says Yannuzzi.

Source: Raymond Yannuzzi, Camden County College
Writer: Joe Petrucci

Many Philadelphians would say that University City is one of the hottest sections of the city for development. In fact, it seems like both the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University have grand plans to further development in their pockets of the city. With this in mind, Penn Praxis, the University City District, and Sustainable Communities Initiative- West have teamed up with other community, university, and business interests to form the Friends of 40th St. The Friends held their final public meeting last week to brainstorm ways to enhance the 40th St. corridor between Baltimore and Lancaster Aves.

Harris Steinberg, the executive director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Praxis did much of the talking at the public input meeting. Steinberg makes it clear that transportation is one of the biggest slices of the Friends goals. This includes “thinking of our transit portals as important markers,” says Steinberg. 40th St. is an important transit stretch, as it includes the Southwest Philadelphia trolley portal at Baltimore Ave., the 40th St. Market-Frankford Line Station at Market St, and connections with heavily-traveled cross-town bus routes.

One transit issue that stuck a nerve with the crowd was making the station at 40th and Market Sts. handicapped accessible. Even though neighboring El stations have elevators, 40th St. Station does not, despite being feet away from senior housing. Steinberg confirmed that “universal accessibility for all users” is a big area of study for the Friends.

Yet, some members of the audience didn’t feel like the Friends were pushing hard enough for elevators, as question after question emerged about the accessibility of the station. Finally, a representative of Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s office spoke up and promised the councilwoman would convene a meeting between SEPTA and neighbors about constructing elevators at 40th St Station.

It’s important to note that transportation isn’t the only aspect the Friends of 40th St. are concentrating on. Steinberg showed a picture of the pocket park around 17th and Chestnut Sts. as an example of how parks could make the street a more appealing corridor. Two other elements that are being examined are preservation/development and density. Specifically, the Friends are researching whether 40th St. can support greater density to create a more vibrant urban environment.

The idea of greater density made some in the audience uncomfortable. Long-time residents griped about a lack of parking and other quality-of-life issues caused by an increase in student population. They also raised their hands to complain about what they saw as local institutions having too much control over development. Steinberg, poised as ever, responds “as new development happens, quality of the built environment would improve the quality of your life.” That sums up what the Friends of 40th St. are trying to do, which is improve the quality of life of everyone who lives, works, shops, or attends classes along the 40th St. corridor.           

Source: Harris Steinberg, PennPraxis
Writer: Andy Sharpe

If you’re strolling along Lancaster Avenue between 35th and 40th Sts., you probably notice something looks different. In fact, you’re right, as Drexel University, the University City District, and other community groups have partnered on a two-month art exhibition running through Nov. 30 called LOOK!.

There are three main components to LOOK!, which are art displays in the windows of unused buildings, group art events in galleries or public spaces, and performances open to anyone. The most omnipresent of these components is the art that now adorns the fronts of vacant buildings. According to University City District’s Mark Christman, there are thirteen such displays. These displays speak to the corridor’s history as well as the resiliency of the community, and include audio and visual artwork.

Additionally, the opening night of LOOK! Featured some fascinating performances. This included a dance exhibition that wound its way down Lancaster Ave. called Dances for Imaginary Places Barely There. The troupe made sure to modify its dance routine depending on the unique culture of every block. The opening night also saw some theatrical shows, which examined American culture, mental illness, and burlesque.

The University City District believes the success in organizing LOOK! is a great sign for the Lancaster Avenue corridor.

"The fact that community members, landlords, neighborhood institutions, and artists were able to successfully collaborate on a project of this scale is clearly a strong sign of the broader commitment to continue to transform the Avenue," says Christman. "Lancaster Avenue is clearly a great ‘main street’ in the making."

Christman builds on the "main street" theme by lauding the neighborhood farmers’ market, nascent galleries, cafes and dining establishments, and fencing academy. He says it only made sense to run a community arts show given how much is already going on with the avenue. While Christman is unsure as to whether LOOK! will ever be done again, he did say that community groups will make sure to analyze how art can beautify public space.

When the involved organizations announced they were seeking artists to participate in mid-July, they received an overwhelming response. Despite giving artists just three weeks to submit proposals, they received about 200 requests. Christman acknowledges how creative many of the proposals were, but says "we ultimately put together a panel that included representatives from neighborhood institutions, community members, and even two Pew Fellows."

Source: Mark Christman, University City District
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Last week, the University of Pennsylvania made an effort to bridge the gap between itself and Center City by opening a newly-constructed 24-acre park. Penn Park, which combines a former postal service parking lot with university property, is bounded by Walnut and South Sts. to the north and south, and rail tracks to the east and west.

One of Penn Park’s most notable qualities is the opportunities it provides for pedestrian connection to Center City. According to Anne Papageorge, Penn’s Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services, the park is "knit together" by three pedestrian bridges. One bridge connects the park with Walnut St. just past the Schuylkill River, while another bridge enables pedestrians going to or coming from downtown to access the park from the South St. bridge.

Another of Penn Park’s accomplishments is that it transformed a parking lot into something sustainable. Papageorge was proud to list some of the park’s environmentally friendly components, including "cisterns, energy efficient lighting, and native plants." What this means is that 548 local trees were planted in the park, all of which can be irrigated using recycled rainwater from cisterns. Also, energy-efficient lighting should save the park 300,000 watts of energy per hour. 

Penn Park is expected to become a pivotal part of Penn’s athletic system. The park is graced by three multipurpose NCAA-worthy fields, including one that seats 470 spectators, as well as 12 tennis courts, which can accommodate another 200 sports fans. Steve Bilsky, Director of Athletics at the university, believes the park is a leap forward for athletics. "Because it's a park, more and more people will visit the athletic facilities," says Bilsky. He adds that it will be a worthwhile, albeit contemporary, addition to the famed Palestra and Franklin Field.

The park cost $46.5 million, paid for by the university and donors, and created 233 local jobs. Penn celebrated the park’s opening last Thursday by offering everyone a free picnic with hotdogs and soda and setting off fireworks at dusk. Onlookers on the Walnut St. bridge were treated to an up-close showing of the fireworks, which were set off from a parking lot below. In keeping with the theme of connecting with Center City, the fireworks were also clearly visible from the Schuylkill River Trail.
  
Source: Anne Papageorge, University of Pennsylvania
Writer: Andy Sharpe

If Temple University students, faculty, staff, or neighbors are looking for a local java alternative to Starbucks and Saxby’s, they are about to get it. In just a few weeks, Mugshots Coffeehouse and Café will open its third location, in the lobby of the Beech Interplex at 1520 Cecil B. Moore Ave.

Mugshots’ owner, Angie Vendetti, is thrilled to be opening up a location on Temple’s campus.

“I’m super excited to be at Temple, and so are a lot of the staff who are either recent grads, or still at Temple studying,” says Vendetti. She is especially proud to be moving into the recently built Beech Interplex. She touts the building, which is used as an international student dormitory, as a success story for improving the campus and the neighborhood around it without displacing residents.

Vendetti compares the incoming Mugshots to the existing location in Brewerytown. This means "all the food preparation and baking is done off-site at the Fairmount location and brought in fresh daily," beamed Vendetti. She added that the same menu items, including sandwiches, wraps, salads, gluten-free and vegan deserts, and of course coffee, will be available at both the Temple and Brewerytown shops. Mugshots' Manayunk location was closed last month.

Speaking of coffee, Mugshots will be featuring its recently debuted Counter Culture Coffee (CCC) at the Cecil B. Moore location. As part of this change, the coffeehouse will include a “pour-over” coffee area at Temple, which should mean a fresher brew for patrons. On a sophisticated note, "staff has gone through espresso training at CCC's training center in New York City, and quite a few of them are on their way to becoming certified baristas," said the owner. 

Vendetti is also looking at creative payment methods for the Temple coffeehouse. For one thing, she is intrigued by Temple’s alternative currency, Diamond Dollars. She hopes to accept Diamond Dollars, although is not quite sure how compatible it will be with her equipment. Before, or possibly instead of, accepting Diamond Dollars, this location will allow Temple parents to unload money onto their students’ Mugshots cards, which imitate debit cards and give users credit toward free beverages.

It looks like Mugshots is pumped to be opening a location at Temple University. Vendetti says the success of the Temple location might spur her to launch additional locations at other area colleges or universities. As for Temple students and others, it will only be a few weeks until they can begin to kill time in a brand new coffee shop.

Source: Angie Vendetti, Mugshots Coffeehouse and Cafe
Writer: Andy Sharpe

There's certainly nothing new or unusual about major universities that seem to insatiably gobble up various plots of real estate surrounding their respective campuses. And while it may appear that Drexel, the country's 14th-largest private university, is no different, the reality of the school's most recent real estate acquisition may come as a surprise. That's because Drexel's latest $21.8 million land purchase--a 3.6 acre former public parking lot that sits just east of the school--promises to take the campus in a whole new direction, quite literally.

The thin but long track of land--sandwiched between JFK Boulevard to the south, and the 30th Street Station train tracks to the north--was purchased by the university with the intention of creating a new eastern gateway-style entrance to the Drexel campus, says Bob Francis, Drexel's head of university facilities.

The purchase certainly reflects Drexel's current mission of continuing to grow and expand. But as Francis explains, the strategic purchase was actually much more community-minded than it might have at first appeared.

"When (a school) grows," Francis says, "you don't just grow academics. And it turns out that the direction Drexel has traditionally gone, which is to the north, pressing up against the Powelton Village and Mantua communities, is probably not the way to go in the future, because we've put a lot of stress on those neighborhoods."

It was with exactly that sort of community-focused attitude in mind that the eastward-facing lot was purchased. And what's more, Drexel intends to rely heavily on community input during the year-long planning phase for the new eastern campus entrance.

The school's current plans for the land include developing a number of residential, retail, and mixed use spaces. "We plan to consult with all the partners who have an interest in this," adds Francis, and bring them and the community along with us."

Source: Bob Francis, Drexel University
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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When it comes to historic Philadelphia museums that take seriously their mission of historical accuracy and preservation, perhaps none is quite as accomplished as the Wagner Free Institute of Science, a self-described Victorian natural science and history museum that has been serving the city in North Philadelphia, not far from Temple University, since 1855.

On May 17, for instance, the museum became the recipient of three separate prestigious awards, one of which was the result of a restoration project that managed to update the museum's century-old heating system without sacrificing the historic or the aesthetic integrity of the building.

Ironically, the award--a 2011 Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia--was essentially the result of a 2009 boiler room fire that destroyed the Wagner's ancient Broomell Vapor heating system. Most modern museums, of course, would have simply updated the ruined system, which was installed in 1907, with something new and advanced. But at the quirky Wagner Free Institute, where "little has changed but the century," according to a blurb on its website, "modern" is very rarely equated with "better." And so a series of "green design principles and sustainable practices" were instituted instead, according to a press release. And thanks in large part to an engineering firm known as the Landmark Facilities Group, the Broomell Vapor was saved.

Coincidentally, the Wagner now has another renovation coming its way, thanks to recent funding from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage's Heritage Philadelphia program. Those funds will be used to update the museum's aged electrical system, and to install new lighting. The Wagner was also recently recognized for the strength of its science programming by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and by City Council through its Councilman David Cohen Award.

Source: Abby Sullivan, Wagner Free Institute of Science
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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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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When Mayor Nutter first introduced Philadelphia's ambitious Green 2015 initiative, which aims to add 500 new acres of accessible green space to the city by the year 2015, he made it perfectly clear that the goal couldn't possibly be achieved by the efforts of municipal entities working alone. As it happens, Lucy Kerman, who works as Drexel's Vice Provost for University and Community Partnerships, felt exactly the same way when she first heard about Green 2015. "We also felt it was really important that the universities around the city step up to the plate," she says.

And so Kerman and her colleagues at Drexel approached the city's Department of Parks and Recreation with something of a partnership proposal. The idea, as she explains it, was partly to help the department in greening parts of the Mantua neighborhood, which surrounds Drexel. But it also involved lending to the city the intellectual expertise of Drexel's Environmental Engineering department, which is particularly interested in sustainability issues.

According to Kerman, Drexel sees the partnership as both multifaceted and long-term, and on April 18, an announcement on the university's campus officially introduced the partnership, and spelled out some of its goals, which include the giveaway of 200 trees to Drexel employees living in Philadelphia.

Three area playgrounds--including Miles Mack Playground, where members of the partnership recently planted 28 trees--will also be greened and otherwise improved. Drexel's environmental engineering students, for instance, will be creating new storm water treatment systems for the parks. And students in the school's Interior Design department will be studying ways in which playgrounds can be created "that support not only children's play, but children's learning," Kerman explains. What's more, the partnership will be heading up a number of 'greening days' that will take place throughout Mantua in the coming months.

"You know, it's really a win-win-win-win," says Kerman.

Source: Lucy Kerman, Drexel University
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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