Some high-profile retailers and food establishments are expanding to University City.
This week, I had
the chance to walk around the University of Pennsylvania campus with Anthony
Sorrentino, executive director of the office of the executive vice president,
checking out changes on the retail front.
It should be
noted that Drexel University is also a major part of the change in University
City, and I had the opportunity to check out the new Shake Shack a couple weeks
ago. Joe Coffee is also one of my new go-to spots.
Indeed, there’s
more and more overlap between the two campuses and the universities’ economic
development efforts. Between the two schools, they have 46,700 students and
11,000 faculty-and-staff members.
Going back to
2000, under the direction of John A. Fry, Penn started being aggressive about
buying up retail space and recruiting retailers. (Fry is now president of
Drexel.)
Penn now has
450,000 square feet in retail space. About a two-thirds of the operators are
independent businesses, with the rest being national chains.
Some big names
are moving across the river from Center City or other cities.
One example is
Tortas Frontera (3601 Locust Walk), a quick-service Mexican place. It's Chicago
Chef Rick Bayless’ first foray into Philadelphia and the first on-campus
location for Tortas Frontera. It's being opened in partnership with Penn’s
food-service provider, Bon Appetit Management Co., in January or February. It
will be on the ground floor of the Arts, Research and Cultural House (ARCH),
which has gone through a $20 million renovation.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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