Left Bank opens its doors

Graduate students and young professionals, long faced with few housing choices in University City, now have one more option open to them. The Left Bank luxury apartment complex opened one floor to tenants on January 3, and operator Carl Dranoff plans to open one floor per month until the building's completion in May. The lobby of the building as well as 25 apartments on the sixth floor are now complete. Young Philadelphia professionals, graduate students, Penn faculty and staff are the main target buyers for the apartments, which are located at 3131 Walnut Street. Dranoff said he expects to see some undergraduates moving in as well. "We have no problem with [leasing to undergrads], but they have to qualify financially, which is difficult," said Dranoff. The rent for a studio loft apartment in Left Bank is $1075 per month, while the rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1835. The Left Bank aims "to provide a revitalized gateway to Penn's campus and to meet housing demands," according to Dranoff, president of Dranoff Properties. "Luxury upscale living has not been available in University City," Dranoff said. "This building was a vacant eyesore, and we've brought it back to life." The Left Bank houses 282 luxury apartments, a large parking garage, retail space on Walnut and Chestnut streets and an atrium courtyard. Haley Alexander, leasing consultant for Dranoff Properties, says that the company will make an effort to bring in retail options that will appeal to the wider community as well as to Left Bank tenants. "We're going to deal with what's popular, with what will fit the area and the building," she said. Even though the retail spots are not filled yet, tenants in the building are happy with their new housing. "I wanted to be able to walk to work or take local transportation," West Philadelphia professional Michael Epps said. "This is really a great location, but the thing that sets it apart is the quality of the people working here." For third-year medical student Evan Fieldston, the Left Bank gave him the opportunity to move out of the Sansom Place graduate towers, where he spent the last two-and-a-half-years. "This is a definite step up," he said. "I lived in the grad towers exclusively for convenience, because the only other option was to live in Center City." Fieldston also said the University should continue to pay attention to housing matters rather than retail affairs. "Penn should be seeking nice housing, not movie theaters," Fieldston said. "Hopefully, [the Left Bank] is a preview of good things to come." University real estate official John Greenwood agrees that the Left Bank has fulfilled a long-awaited need. "I think you're going to see Penn continue to encourage [this type of housing]," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if there are future market-rate housing opportunities." In addition to the retail space, the Left Bank contains 100,000 square feet of office space, which is already leased by the University. The University relocated the Penn Children's Center to the Left Bank on Monday, and the Facilities Management group will be moved there in the next few weeks. The Left Bank was previously the General Electric Building. The building was constructed in 1929 as the Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Building. A dedication of the building will be held in the lobby at noon on January 31st.

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