$115 million, 334,000-square-foot tower officially opens in University City

University City Science Center officially opened its latest building at 3737 Market St., making it the 16 th structure to round out its West Philadelphia campus.

The $115 million, 334,000-square-foot building going under the name 3737 Science Center was built in a joint venture between the Science Center and Wexford Science + Technology. The two have partnered on constructing three other Science Center buildings though Wexford was going under a different name when two of those projects were completed.

The new building, one of the biggest at the Science Center, was originally designed to be an 11-story structure but mid-way through construction that changed.

“We were at the point where the foundation was in and steel was just getting started when we were approached by a significant user that wanted more space than we had available,” said Joe Reagan, vice president of development at Wexford.

In response, two stories were added to the building last spring. Reagan declined to disclose who that tenant was.

The building is 82 percent occupied with: Penn Medicine University City; Spark Therapeutics, which is a spinoff from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Good Shepherd Penn Partners, which operates the Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine; and the Rose Group, which operates the Corner Bakery Café, the building’s only retail tenant.

“Together with Wexford Science + Technology, we have created a place for patients to get the treatment they need, and for scientists, researchers and physicians to conduct the groundbreaking work that will solve the problems of future patients for generations to come,” said Stephen S. Tang, president and chief executive officer of the Science Center, in a statement.

University City typically gets the highest office rents in Philadelphia. The new building is getting rents in the mid- to upper $20s a square foot, Reagan said.

Wexford is active in University City beyond the Science Center. It is partnering with Drexel University on project a former high school into a mixed-use community and plans to respond to a request for proposals Drexel sent out to become a master developer of a so-called Innovation Neighborhood next to its campus.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal