Apt. bldg. plans draw praise around Penn

With the University entering into a partnership to transform a rundown office building on the eastern edge of campus into an upscale apartment complex, students, professors and community organizations are showing overwhelming support for the project at 31st and Walnut streets. And although Penn will not kick in any funding for this project -- the $54 million building will be funded entirely by the real estate development company Dranoff Properties -- members of the University community feel that Penn will reap the benefits of the new facility, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2000. Called Westside Commons, the residence will house 285 apartment units, a fitness center, 17,000 square feet of retail, one floor of office space and a 1/4-mile rooftop track. Once completed, the complex may also entice graduate students and professors to move closer to campus. "I think it fills a need for [luxury accommodations] that has been unmet for a while now," said first-year Wharton graduate student and Medical student Brian Choi. "I think the strip along Walnut Street has been dead.? This will make it alive, especially when it's kind of sketchy to walk by there." Choi also expressed his belief that the project will bring in new residents to an area that is not considered "lively." Paul Steinke, executive director of the University City District, also said that the project will enhance the University City area. "I think it's terrific. It will add more life to the streets. It will add more retail to University City and generally improve the environment," Steinke said, stressing that the project will improve the image and reputation of the University and its surrounding area. Dranoff Properties will also join the UCD as a donor, according to the company's owner. Noting the likely development of business near the new facility, University City Community Council Secretary Mike Hardy applauded the plan. "I think [the project] brings buying power for the businesses and services in the neighborhood," he said. "I think [the project's] a plus all the way around." Since the building is located in a prime location and serves as the gateway to campus, it will attract people to the area, according to History Professor Ann Moyer. "The idea of having a campus gateway building is a good idea," she said. "It will enhance the reputation of Penn more generally outside the Philadelphia areas." She added that the residential opportunities would allow newly hired professors good accommodations and encourage them to move closer to campus. Public Policy and History Professor Theodore Hershberg also said the complex would attract residents, fulfill an economic market need for apartments and increase safety around the area. "It's all for the good. Anything that adds more life, more excitement, more people to those streets I think is terrific," said Hershberg. The complex is sure to bring new residents and retail vendors into the area, who will likely pump major amounts of money into University City's economy, according to first-year Wharton graduate student Curtiss Barnes. "I think it's important for the whole University City to understand the importance of retail presence," Barnes said. "Economic revitalization makes the area safer."

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