Former President Judith Rodin's time at Penn was characterized by almost constant construction, with the addition of Huntsman Hall at 37th and Walnut plus the renovation of the high rises and the Quadrangle.
It's safe to say that President Amy Gutmann's first year has followed suit with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Life Sciences Center and the renovation of Bennett Hall. These and other improvements to have renewed private developers' interest in the area. And Penn has made the right move by opening up areas for private development.
However, Penn should do everything possible to help current tenants affected by the new construction relocate within the area. Next summer the 3900 block of Walnut stretching from the CVS to College Pizza will be torn down and rebuilt as a private student apartment building with retail shops on the ground floor. The Last Word, Philly Diner and College Pizza have all yet to find a new location. These businesses have become staples for Penn students looking for a good read, a slice of pizza or a late-night waffle. They should be allowed to continue to contribute to the University City area, and Penn should work to make it possible.
This September will mark the start of construction of luxury apartments and high-end retail. Its convenient location near the Law School may draw more graduate students to live in University City. Hopefully, the project will also be a successful warm-up for all the construction planned to follow, including more expansion eastward. The building will be completed in 2007 ? the year Penn will begin to break ground in the postal land, acquired last year. The new land will give Penn 50 acres leading all the way up the Schuylkill to build upon and will increase the size of Penn's campus by half. With so much room to work with, Penn will be able provide more green space and better practice fields in addition to new dorms, offices, laboratories and, of course, retail buildings.
All these new developments on Penn's campus point toward a promising future, but Penn should not forget those business that have already contributed to the renewal.
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