U. takes over leasing for 3401 Walnut

Administrators will work with a consulting firm to redevelop retail in the complex and across campus. In signing a contract Tuesday night, the University acquired full leasing responsibilities for the 3401 Walnut shopping complex, allowing it to control the vendors in the Food Court and the store fronts at 34th and Walnut streets. Working with the consulting firm William Jackson Ewing, officials plan to redevelop the complex as part of a complete overhaul of local retail. Although the University owns the shopping complex, Kravco -- a Philadelphia-based leasing company, which built the King of Prussia Mall -- had previously managed the space. When the shopping complex was built about 10 years ago, University administrators asked Kravco to handle leasing responsibilities because of the company's success in King of Prussia. But University President Judith Rodin said the frequent vacancies in the complex left administrators "outraged." The most prominent hole has been the Italian Bistro space, empty for two and a half years. Other short-lived ventures at 3401 Walnut included The Lodge, Quantum Books and Perfect Pretzel. Now that the University is no longer at the mercy of Kravco's leasing decisions, Executive Vice President John Fry said his first priority will be to fill the Bistro space. In a survey last spring by the University's Real Estate Department, students ranked the shops at 3401 Walnut Street as the most popular stores near campus. Of the survey's respondents, 67 percent said they frequent the building's food court. About 20 percent asked for a "nice" Italian restaurant near campus, which may influence the search for new vendors. Picking up leasing responsibilities for 3401 also fits into the University's ongoing efforts to improve retail on and near campus. The University will work with consultants from the firm -- who specialize in urban development and retail -- to analyze the Walnut complex and examine the current "mixed bag of tenants," Fry said. The same team will be responsible for planning retail reprogramming across campus. This reprogramming will encompass retail within Houston Hall, 40th Street and the Sansom Commons -- the upscale retail district to be centered around the new Barnes & Noble bookstore. "We want a holistic approach to our retail programming," Rodin said. While University administrators want to create retail with a single "look and feel," the Walnut Street retail will aim to "rehumanize" the area -- in conjunction with a plan to enhance, renovate and improve the north end of campus, Fry said. But shops in the 40th Street mall -- which the University acquired from Smokey Joe's owner Paul Ryan in 1990 -- will be more service-oriented, in accordance with a program to revitalize the west end of campus. "There will be different gears of retail, but they will all relate to each other," Fry said.

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