Higher Education : Development News

If the announcement had been made in just about any other university town in the nation, the news probably wouldn't have raised more than an eyebrow or two. But regardless of the fact that a branch campus of Rutgers University resides there, Camden, N.J., is certainly not thought of as a university town. On the contrary, this struggling urban area located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia has been consistently ranked as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country.

And that's essentially why the latest announcement from Rutgers-Camden was so surprising: On Feb. 8, the school's Board of Governors approved the construction of a 12-story, $55 million facility where 300 graduate students will be housed. The 161,653-square-foot building will be home to 102 separate units, many of which will be three- and four-bedroom apartments. Roughly 7,000 square feet of retail space will exist on the ground floor of the building, which will be fully owned by Rutgers. This will be the first student housing built on the Camden campus since 1989, when the Rutgers-Camden Tower was constructed specifically for undergrads.

According to Rutgers-Camden publicist Mike Sepanic, the project was a direct result of the campus' increasing enrollment numbers; 6,337 students enrolled during the fall 2010 semester, a record high for the school, where the majority of students live off-campus. And as the school's chancellor, Wendell Pritchett, explains, "These new housing facilities will allow New Jersey to retain some of its brightest graduate students, while attracting other students to our state, where they will be more likely to remain and contribute to our economy upon earning their degrees."

The building, which will be constructed on the 300 block of Cooper Street, and which is being designed by Northern Liberties-based Erdy McHenry Architecture LLC, is scheduled to be occupancy-ready by August, 2012.

Source: Mike Sepanic, Rutgers-Camden University
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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It's certainly no secret, at least to those of us who call Philadelphia home, that the University City district has for many years now been the proverbial nucleus of an incredibly well-connected and highly knowledgeable cluster of medical, science and academic professionals. But unfortunately, the area's so-called 'Eds and Meds' leaders have never fully succeeded in branding their community as one of the nation's most important research centers. That perception--or rather, the lack thereof--may soon be changing, thanks to the work of a newly-formed group calling itself the University City Innovation Collaborative.

The group is being headed by the University City Science Center; the nonprofit University City District; and the Science Center's development partner, a Baltimore company known as Wexford Science and Technology.

The aim of the group, according to Stephen Tang, the Science Center's CEO, involves making University City a world-class innovation center along the lines of similar regions like Cambridge, Mass., and San Francisco's Mission Bay district. And yet what sort of development that will actually entail still remains to be seen, because as Tang explains, "This is all a work in progress; the project doesn't really finish until April."

Part of what the project will almost certainly involve, however, aside from more spaces where innovation can take place, are recreational facilities. "You have to have amenities that allow creative people to be with like-minded people for extended periods of time," Tang says. "So that means retail, it means entertainment, it means after-hours places. All those things need to come together."

Tang is also quick to point out, however, that while "it's important that we have facilities, it's more important who's in those facilities, and for what reason. We need to foster better collaboration between organizations and institutions," he offers. "And that's not only to tell the story, but to build a better story as well."

Source: Stephen Tang, University City Science Center
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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There certainly isn't anything particularly headline-grabbing about a wealthy university alumnus making a financial donation to his alma mater, as the former tobacco executive Bennett S. LeBow did back in 1999, when he gave a gift of $10 million to Drexel University. But this past November, when LeBow once again opened his checkbook to Drexel and made a stunning $45 million donation, well, that was big news.

As it happened, the gift couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time: Administrators at Drexel have for years now been planning to make a significant upgrade to the 45-year-old Matheson Hall, which houses the business college that is named after LeBow. LeBow's most recent financial contribution, however, will now allow for Drexel to fully demolish Matheson, which it plans to do sometime this summer. The 12-story LeBow College of Business Building will be constructed in its place, and if the architectural renderings and statistics can be believed, it may in fact end up being more of an attention-getter than the donation that is largely making its construction possible.

For starters, the 177,500 square-foot building will contain an entrepreneurship center with business incubator space, not to mention a five-story atrium, a finance trading lab, a 160-seat event space and a behavioral studies lab.

"The hallmark of business education at Drexel is experiential learning," said the university's dean, George P. Tsetsekos, who was instrumental in securing the LeBow donation. "A new and beautiful building will help us to better connect with the Philadelphia business communities and allow our students to learn in a setting that is less like a classroom and more like the corporate environment."

Drexel still needs to raise some $30 million for the construction of the new LeBow Building, which is scheduled to be open and operational sometime in 2014.

Source: Mark Everly, Drexel University
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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On Valentine's Day last week, Mayor Michael Nutter appeared at Esperanza College in North Philadelphia to introduce the recipients of the 2011 Neighborhood Economic Development grants. The purpose of the long-running and hugely popular program, which receives $1 million in funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant program, is to "support the completion of neighborhood economic predevelopment, planning, and development projects," according to a Philadelphia Department of Commerce press release distributed at Esperanza.

Mayor Nutter, however, described the program in significantly more passionate and straightforward terms: "When we talk about this program, it's not just about affordable housing," he offered. "It's not just about shelter for the homeless. It's not just about investing. It's also about jobs, which is all we really want to talk about. You ask me what time it is?" he continued. "It's time to help people get a job. You ask me what the weather's like? It's nice enough to go out and look for a job. Anything you ask me, we're going to talk about jobs."

And although some might argue that the Neighborhood Economic Development grants are about much more than simple job creation--at their core, they're about helping community groups foster serious economic growth--the reality is that a total of 368 permanent jobs will eventually be created as a result of the grant monies being awarded to this year's recipients.

Esperanza, in fact, was one of this year's nine grant recipients, as was the Center for Culinary Enterprises, a food business incubator which plans to break ground on March 23. Other recipients include Community Legal Services, which is constructing a four-story building; Mt. Airy USA, which is building the Mt. Airy Transit Village; and People for People (PFP), which will offer job training in a soon-to-be-renovated two-story building. Click here to read about the remaining grant recipients and their plans for future development.

Source: Esperanza College
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Ask just about any tourist in Philadelphia to name one of the city's many museums, and it's quite unlikely they'll mention the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, regardless of the fact that it is the nation's oldest art museum and school. And that's partially why, after many years of planning, PAFA has finally begun construction on an outdoor civic space that will be known as Lenfest Plaza.

The Plaza's official groundbreaking ceremony took place on Feb. 2. It revealed the stretch of Cherry Street between Broad and 15th that will soon be closed to traffic and developed with a slew of urban amusements open to the public. The Plaza will feature an upscale restaurant, for instance, which will go into PAFA's Hamilton Building. It will be home to an outdoor exhibition of rotating artwork. There will also be a very welcome series of curved benches, and then, of course, the piece de resistance: a 53-foot-tall paintbrush designed by the pop artist Claes Oldenburg, the bristles of which will be illuminated like a torch.

According to Marsha Braverman, PAFA's Executive VP of Marketing and Communications, the idea to create the plaza initially came about after PAFA's purchase of the Hamilton building; it was agreed upon by the board that a plaza would naturally unite the school and museum buildings. "The idea (now)," says Braverman, "is when the conventioneers (at the newly expanded Convention Center) leave the front door, we're their first stop. And then if you walk down Lenfest Plaza, that leads right to the Parkway. So we're saying that we're really the start of the Museum Mile."

Construction of the $7.5 million Lenfest Plaza, which was designed by the local Olin landscape architectural firm, is expected to be complete this August, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for October.

Source: Marsha Braverman, PAFA
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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When the University of Pennsylvania launched its ambitious Climate Action Plan in September 2009, President Amy Gutmann spelled out the program's basic goals: First, reduce the university's carbon footprint. And second, enhance the school's overall environmental sustainability. Last month, a new retail cafe opened for business inside Penn's Wharton School that seems perfectly poised to attack both of those enterprising goals head-on.

Known as Joe's Cafe--it's named after Joseph Wharton, of course, the business school's founder--and located on the ground floor of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, the ultra-green cafe is truly nothing less than a gleaming environmental-sustainability showpiece.

For starters, Joe's plans to either recycle or compost 50 percent of its waste, including food scraps, utensils and fryer oil. (Food waste goes to the Wilmington Organic Recycling Facility.) And what's more, the food and drink served at Joe's will be environmentally-gentle: The meat and dairy will be both hormone- and antibiotic-free. The beef will be vegetarian-fed. Even the fish will be sourced according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines. And thanks to the efforts of the sustainable food services company Bon Appetit, the remainder of the food at Joe's will be produced seasonally, and sourced within 150 miles of the school. Caffeine addicts will no doubt be pleased to learn that the Souderton, Bucks County-based One Village Coffee, a certified B Corporated, has created a special "Wharton Blend" for the cafe.

According to Laurie Cousart, the Sustainability Coordinator for Business Services at Penn, there will even be an ongoing educational program based on sustainable food practices taking place at the cafe. "It really engages students with other students about teaching sustainable behavior," Cousart says, "so we think [Joe's Cafe] will be a great forum for meetings and events."

Perhaps most telling of all, however, are the overwhelmingly positive reactions the new cafe has received from students, faculty and cafe employees alike. "The first day it was open," Cousart says, "people walked in and basically stood at the front door and said, 'Wow!' That was the most common reaction. It's just a beautiful space, filled with light."

Joe's Cafe is open Mondays through Fridays, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Source: Laurie Cousart, University of Pennsylvania
Writer: Dan Eldridge

In 2006, West Chester University was gearing up for a major renovation of campus residence halls. But when the conversation came to a new heating and cooling system, it seemed foolish to only replace the central steam system in residence hall buildings without looking at the rest of campus. Replacing a historic campus' entire heating and cooling system would not be easy. But last week, West Chester announced a new grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for $4.7 million that will get the ball rolling on making it Greater Philadelphia's first completely geothermal campus.

"Our renovation plan gave us the opportunity to ask the question 'what is the most efficient way to heat and cool our buildings,'" says WCU Executive Director of Facilities Management Greg Cuprak. "We realized that, over a 10 year period of time, we had planned to renovate over 65 percent of our campus so we had to take it all the way."

Never one to miss a teachable moment, West Chester's Geology Department will be doing experiments as the digging of geothermal wells begins this spring. Students will be researching the differences between the WCU geoexchange system and other types of energy systems to ensure the campus is as efficient as it can be going forward.

"We expect to see a reduction in heating costs by 40 percent and a reduction in cooling by 20 percent," says Cuprak. "Before we started this thing, we were spending $2.6 million heating our campus and around $600,000 a year cooling our campus. So while this is not a short-term process but many years from now, when the last building is no longer being heated with fossil fuels, that is the type of savings you can expect."

Source: Greg Cuprak, West Chester University
Writer: John Steele

While the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) remains hard at work on the Philadelphia 2035 plan--a strategic, long-term document focused on creating a stronger future for Philadelphia's transit and development--another group of planners have gotten in on the act. What these planners lack in knowledge, they more than make up for in experience living in Philadelphia and observing the functionality of city design and services.

These concerned community members are part of a pilot program called the Citizen's Planning Institute (CPI), an educational program working to empower citizens to make their voices heard in the planning process. Funded by the William Penn Foundation, CPI offers basic lessons in everything from land use to zoning issues, placing extra emphasis on under-represented communities around Philadelphia, in the hopes of creating more dynamic, city-wide development.

"We targeted specifically neighborhoods not as experienced with the process to be more active and effective with a focus on a "planning 101 approach," says CPI Director Donna Carney. "So they could see that they have the power to change their neighborhoods through this process."

The pilot program attracted 100 applicants, of which 30 were chosen to represent their neighborhoods. The resulting panel contained over 850 years of Philadelphia residency and helped shape a planned expansion to the program in 2011. The current students "graduate" when the courses conclude on Dec. 6 but plans are already in the works to add elective topics such as urban design, historic preservation, marketing and finance.

"As we expand on the program going forward, a whole variety of outreach activities could be handled by the Citizen's Planning Institute in the future," says PCPC Director of Planning and Policy Alan Urek.  "We would look to it to help inform some of the recommendations on the comprehensive plan."

Source: Donna Carney, Citizen's Planning Institute
Writer: John Steele

University of Pennsylvania's board of trustees this week gave the go-ahead for Shoemaker Green, the sustainable landscape project unveiled in May that will connect the Palestra and Franklin Field. After being chosen in May as one of more than 150 pilot projects to test a new LEED-based ratings system for landscape design, Shoemaker Green's design plan, created by local architects Andropogon Associates, received a budget of $8 million to complete the park, which officials hope will provide a more pleasing pathway between the Penn campus and the new Penn Park at S. 31st Street.

"The design of Shoemaker Green continues Penn's open space tradition," says Penn's VP of Facilities and Real Estate Services Anne Papageorge. "By linking College Green via Smith Walk to Penn Park, Shoemaker Green incorporates numerous sustainable features, providing a passive recreational landscape surrounded by the iconic historic buildings of the Palestra and Franklin Field."

Shoemaker Green hopes to address serious stormwater runoff issues present on the underutilized former greyfield parcel at 33rd Street. By adding three rain gardens, porous pavers, a cistern for rainwater reuse and tree trenches, architects and Penn officials hope to absorb some of the rainwater known to flood local buildings. The land will also be used to test innovative new storm water management technologies.

The open center of the project is adaptable to a variety of special events, like commencement and the Penn Relays. The lawn can accommodate large groups as well as those looking for a secluded area to hold an outdoor class or have a quiet lunch.

Source: University of Pennsylvania
Writer: John Steele

University of Pennsylvania's campus stretches across University City. But ever since the redevelopment of Locust Walk five years ago, the walk's endpoint at 40th and Walnut has been the undisputed hub of Quaker campus life. With gathering points like the Bridge movie theater and Marathon Grill, seminal college establishments like Smokey Joes, and massive grocery store the Fresh Grocer, the block has everything a college student could want. But with a new design competition hitting the streets this week, Penn students have the chance to give something back to everybody's favorite block.

In partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, University City District brings four design teams from the Design School and the School of Engineering to square off for the 40th Street Sustainability Smackdown. Each team has been assigned a business and must design a sustainability plan that will add renewable energy, reduce stormwater and air pollution, and work with alternative building materials. These efforts will culminate in an energy audit and creation of a comprehensive proposal for one of the participating buildings. The final review of plans and awards ceremony is set for Nov. 19.

"They are all very different," says UCD Project Manager Carolyn Hewson. "The Fresh Grocer is a larger structure that contains a garage, Marathon is  a restaurant, Metropolitan Bakery is a historic building so they all come with their own challenges."

Efforts to make local buildings more sustainable are part of the design and engineering programs at Penn and part of a concerted effort to continue development at the campus' hub. After partnering with Penn, Hewson sent e-mails to neighborhood businesses and even went door-to-door to create a buzz around the program. But if her instincts are correct, the competition will create a buzz all its own.

"Its a popular thing to do right now to have competitions to get greater interest and energy behind something," says Hewson. "And competitions within the design world yield great results and draw funding behind the winning team."

Source: Carolyn Hewson, UCD
Writer: John Steele
 

Over the last 121 years, Chestnut Hill's storied Morris Arboretum has made a name for itself with slow, mature growth, planting seeds that will blossom into some of the most beautiful plants in Philadelphia. This week, the arboretum begins a new kind of growth that, officials say, is a long time coming.

With the help of the University of Pennsylvania and private donors like Dorrance Hamilton of Campbell's Soup, arboretum officials dedicated a new $13 million horticultural center. Designed as an equipment storage center and research facility, the building is the first added to the John and Lydia Morris estate property since the arboretum was founded in 1889. Arboretum officials were able to fund the project earlier this year and sought LEED Platinum status, hoping to remain a leader in environmental policy for Philadelphia.

"For the first time, we can put our equipment under a roof and put our people into decent workspaces, a place where they have lockers and showers because before they were operating out of a mechanics garage," says Morris project manager Bob Anderson. "We host seminars and before we would have to host these offsite. We are glad to give support to our educational staff."

The focus on education was part of the original expansion proposal in place since 1982, when a wing of the arboretum facility was turned into a mechanic's garage. Morris officials have been searching for funding to build not only this new Horticultural Center but a fully-functional education facility, capable of hosting larger classes and seminars. This building dedication represents Phase One of what has since become a two-part project. When the second phase will begin, though, is still anyone's guess.

"We had the funding for this project in place two years ago before the economy went to heck, but the funding for Phase Two could be a little tougher to get," says Anderson. "Unless you know someone with a lot of money that wants to give us $17 million."

Source: Bob Anderson, Morris Arboretum
Writer: John Steele

As one of the top urban research facilities in the U.S., the University City Science Center has launched many groundbreaking innovations inside its labs. Its most recent innovation, however, had nothing to do with formulas or equations. The Science Center this week celebrated its Market Street Revitalization Project, which raised over $2 million from the City of Philadelphia's ReStore Corridors Project, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and 11 Market Street tenants from 34th to 41st streets. The revitalization added new trees, sidewalks, benches, bike lanes, lighting and crosswalks to the 7-block corridor.

"We look at ourselves as having a campus here, between 34th and 39th Street,"  says Science Center Senior VP of Real Estate Curtis Hess. "Part of the reason for the project was as a way to tie the whole campus together. As a major stakeholder in this corridor, it just made sense for us to take the lead on the project."

When the project was conceived in January of 2008, University City District approached the Science Center about streetscape improvements at 40th and Market. By the time the project got underway in November 2009, the two projects had been combined to encompass the whole corridor from 34th to 41st, connecting the Science Center complex with neighborhoods to the west. Officials hope the added lighting and footpaths will make the neighborhood safer and will beautify the Science Center campus for future tenants.

"If you look at the fact that we broke ground in November 2009, we had horrible rain in the fall, not one, not two but three blizzards in the winter, then it got to summer and the temperatures rose into the 90s and 100s and stayed up there," says Communications Director Jeanne Mell. "There were a lot of challenges to overcome and now that it is completed, we want to celebrate it and show it off."

Source: Curtis Hess, University City Science Center
Writer: John Steele

A new proposal from West Philadelphia after-school innovators Hybrid X Engineering Team could lead the public school system in a greener direction, using sustainable rehabilitation including green roofs and solar panels as a hands-on teaching tool, and keeping the next generation of students where they belong.

As part of a submission to GE's annual EcoMagination Challenge, the Hybrid X team has created a comprehensive plan for Green Technology High School, a fully functional high school powered by a series of green energy systems entirely maintained and monitored by students. These systems would provide full access to a science and math curriculum geared toward the green jobs of the future.

"These students know what is going on, they see their friends in the mix, and then they see their own experience, traveling around the country, meeting top scientists," says founder Simon Hauger. "They want more kids to be affected by this.

Founded in 1998, the Hybrid X team has worked on creating hybrid car systems. Their hybrid racecar, built in 2005, won a national competition and went on to gain media attention not only for its hybrid engine but its speed and sleek design. The club has routinely beaten college-level teams in engineering competitions, most recently reaching the semi-final round of the Progressive Automotive X Prize. Green Technology High School will be the team's first foray into green building but according to Hauger, it won't be the last, especially if the team wins. Vote for them here.

"They tell us 'this is what school should be," says Hauger. "All the learning that needs to occur can be based in real stuff instead of just go to class, get lectured for an hour, go to the next class, get lectured for an hour, its just not working. And these kids know better than anyone."

Source: Simon Hauger, Hybrid X Team
Writer: John Steele

International foods company Bertoli began in a Tuscany basement as an olive oil stand. The company now known as Progresso Soup started with two families importing Italian food to the U.S. for their families and friends. In an effort to pull Philadelphia's next foodie phenom out of a rowhouse kitchen or barbecue pit, West Philadelphia's Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation has launched Philly Food Ventures, a development program for home-based food entrepreneurs looking to take their businesses to the next level.

"When we grade applicants, we are looking for three things: managerial capability, the strength of their business idea and then we are looking for what we call entrepreneurial spirit," says Enterprise Center Managing Director Greg Heller. "People who come in with small or home-based food businesses and have the ability to run the business and take it to the next level but they don't necessarily have the know-how or the resources to get there."

Philly Food Ventures serves as a precursor to TEC's forthcoming Center for Culinary Enterprises, a 13,000 square foot food incubator with three community kitchens, urban farmland, and a training restaurant. The project is slated to transform a long-vacant grocery store at 48th and Spruce into a results-based food venture program, creating 130 new permanent jobs within its first two years and 20 new food ventures yearly.

"We are rolling this program out slowly so we can build up a client base so when our Center for Culinary Enterprises is open, we have a program and a set of clients and we can just plug and play," says Heller. "Every week, I get calls from folks who are trying to start food businesses, who have existing businesses and need assistance so this type of program is very timely."

Source: Greg Heller, The Enterprise Center
Writer: John Steele