EXPLORE UNIVERSITY CITY

University City is a name for the easternmost region of West Philadelphia. The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name University City as part of a 1950s urban-renewal effort. Today, Drexel University, University City Science Center, and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia also call University City home.

The eastern side of University City is home to the Penn and Drexel campuses, several medical institutions, independent centers of scientific research, 30th Street Station, and the Cira Centre. The western side contains Victorian and early 20th-century housing stock and is primarily residential.

The area is ethnically and economically diverse, although the compositions of its 12 census tracts vary widely; for example, the population in the mid-2000s of the easternmost tract was about half white and one-third Asian, while that of the northwesternmost tract was almost entirely black.

Boundaries

University City’s boundaries, as defined by the non-profit University City District organization and the City of Philadelphia, are the Schuylkill River to the east; Spring Garden Street, Powelton Avenue, and Market Street to the north; 52nd Street to the west; and Woodland Avenue, University Avenue, and Civic Center Boulevard to the south. Within these boundaries are the local neighborhoods of Cedar Park, Garden Court, Spruce Hill, Squirrel Hill, Powelton Village, Walnut Hill, and Woodland Terrace. The boundaries also encompass several historic districts and the ZIP codes 19104, 19139, and 19143.

It is the third-largest business district in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Major redevelopment projects

Science Center

As part of the Housing Act of 1949, Congress established the “Slum Clearance and Community Development and Redevelopment” program, commissioning federal funds to “assist local communities in eliminating their slums and blighted areas and in providing the maximum opportunity for the redevelopment of project areas by private enterprise.” A few years prior, in 1945, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia (RDA) was formed with the power to acquire and redevelop land through condemnation proceedings. This power to take land reached University City when The West Philadelphia Corporation (WPC) was formed in 1959 by a group of local institutions including Penn. By 1965, the WPC had developed a massive plan to demolish homes and redevelop the land as a center of private scientific research. Within four years, the University City Science Center had been established and most of the buildings on Market St. between 34th St. and 40th St. had been demolished.

Superblock

Over the course of 1968 to 1970 and with the assistance of the local redevelopment authorities, Penn acquired, cleared and redeveloped the 4 block area between 38th, 40th, Spruce, and Walnut streets. This area became known as “Superblock” and its primary features are three high-rise apartment-style dormitories. The key purpose of creating these high-rises was to accommodate 3,500 more students at the University. The whole superblock project and especially the high-rise design have been widely criticized, but this view is not held by everyone.

Civic Center complex

Beginning in 1991, Penn publicly expressed official interest in acquiring the 19.2 acres (78,000 m2) to the southeast of its campus occupied by the Philadelphia Civic Center complex. After the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in 1992, the Civic Center was mostly unused. In 1998, a City Council resolution was put forth to turn over much of this property to Penn and CHOP. The initial plans were not fully developed, but did not call for the demolition of Convention Hall, the location of several historic events. By 2005, plans had been expanded and the whole site, including Convention Hall, was slated for demolition to make way for a new clinical care facility attached to the hospital. Many local preservationists were opposed to this. Some were mollified by an exhaustive study commissioned by Penn to find alternate uses for the buildings and demolition continued. The last remaining building in the complex, Pennsylvania Hall, was demolished on March 3, 2007. Penn’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine was officially opened on October 2, 2008.

Postal lands

In 2007, Penn bought 24 acres (97,000 m2) between its campus and the Schuylkill river, an area formerly occupied by the United States Postal Service known as the Postal Lands. (This 1994 map shows the area before the GE building was refurbished into the Left Bank and the Cira Centre was built. According to plans in the works since 2005, Penn officials intend to build several facilities and to connect its campus with the riverfront and Center City. New buildings will include office buildings, parking garages, hotel and conference spaces and more green space on campus. A walkway will extend from Locust Walk and connect to Center City via a pedestrian bridge over the Schuylkill River. Construction began in 2007. The first of four stages will cost an estimated $1.94 billion, including about $194 million from city taxpayers. In addition, the former post office is to be turned into office space for the Internal Revenue Service.

On November 6, 2008, Cira Center developer Brandywine Realty Trust said that it has postponed part of its Cira 2 mixed-use development because of the 2008 financial crisis. The larger tower, Cira Centre South, remains under construction with a planned completion date of 2011

Local institutions

Higher education

• University of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1740, moved to current location in 1872.
• Drexel University. Founded in 1891 at current location.
• University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Founded in 1821, moved to current location in 1928.
• Community College of Philadelphia. Founded in 1965, West campus established in 1985.
• Lincoln University. Main campus in Chester County founded in 1854, Urban Center satellite campus opened in 1976.
• The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. Founded in 1974, moved to current location in 1992.
• Philadelphia Divinity School. Founded in 1858, left neighborhood in 1974, was merged into the Episcopal Theological School.

Secondary education

Public (School District of Philadelphia)

• Middle Years Alternative & Parkway School, 49th and Chestnut St.
• University City High School, 36th and Filbert St.
• West Philadelphia High School, 48th and Chestnut St.

Private

• West Philadelphia Catholic High School (9-12): 45th and Chestnut St.

Primary education

Public (School District of Philadelphia)

• Alexander Wilson School (K-5): 46th and Woodland Ave.
• Charles R. Drew School (PreK-8): 38th and Powelton Ave.
• Henry C. Lea School (K-8): 47th and Locust St.
• Middle Years Alternative & Parkway School (6-12): 49th and Chestnut St.
• Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School (K-8): 42nd and Locust St.
• Samuel Powel School (K-4): 36th and Powelton Ave.

Private

• Christ Memorial Day School (K-6): 43rd and Chestnut St.
• HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy (ages 2–21): 4400 Baltimore Ave.
• Jubilee School (pre-K-6):42nd and Chester Ave.
• Spruce Hill Christian School (K-8): 42nd and Baltimore Av.

Parochial

• St. Francis de Sales School (1-8): 912 S. 47th St.

Public libraries

• The Free Library of Philadelphia Walnut Street West Branch serves University City.

Medical

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (“CHoP”): The top children’s hospital in the country.
• Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (“HUP”): #8-ranked general hospital in the country.
• Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (“Presby”): 300-bed hospital, home to the Scheie Eye Institute.
• VA Medical Center, Philadelphia (“The VA”): Local center for veterans’ healthcare.
• National Board of Medical Examiners: Co-sponsor of the USMLE

Scientific

• Not including the scientific departments of the local universities
• Monell Chemical Senses Center: Leader in research on smell and taste.
• University City Science Center: Focuses on commercialization.
• Wistar Institute: Leader in research on the causes and cures of disease.

Cultural

• A-Space, an anarchist community center
• Philadanco, a professional dance company
• University of Pennsylvania institutions include:
• Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Penn’s modern art museum
• University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, also called “The Penn Museum”

Charitable

• Neighborhood Bike Works: Donates bicycles and helmets to local kids. Offers training in bicycle repair.
• Philadelphia Elwyn: Care for the mentally disabled.
• Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House: A “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals.

Legal

• American Law Institute: Provides Restatements of the Law.
• Dechert: Large Philadelphia law firm.

Government representation

• City Council: Hon. Jannie L. Blackwell, 3rd District
• PA Senate: Hon. Anthony H. Williams, 8th District
• PA House: Hon. James R. Roebuck, Jr., 188th District

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Monthly Market Update for University City