Inn at Swarthmore brings first bar, hotel to college town

More than a decade after it was first proposed and nearly $25 million later, The Inn at Swarthmore is finally complete, and on Wednesday officials from the college and surrounding community will celebrate the project aimed at improving the connection between the school and its neighbors.

"We are excited about the fact that it provides us with a physical and social link between the Borough and the college," Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith told the Philadelphia Business Journal. "It will give us opportunities to work more collaboratively with the borough and create a space for engagement with the entire community."

"This will be a social hub as well as a hub of intellectual energy," she added. Smith, Swarthmore Mayor Tim Kearney and other officials will mark the grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Along with the 40-room Inn, the development – once referred to as Town Center West – also includes the Broad Table Tavern, the only restaurant in town with a liquor license.

"It will be the nicest restaurant in town," said Smith, who began leading the college in October.

The restaurant can accommodate up to 100 in its dining room and also has a 15-seat bar, according to the college.

Swarthmore College also moved its campus bookstore to the newly constructed 43,000-square-foot Inn, which cost the school $21.2 million to construct.

The previous location was "once was a beloved space on campus, but frankly small and inadequate," Smith said.

At 6,300 square feet, the new Swarthmore Campus & Community Bookstore is more than double the previous space, which has been repurposed into a computer lab.

Located adjacent to the Swarthmore train station on SEPTA's Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line, the Inn at Swarthmore has been in the works for the past 16 years.

With its location on the highly trafficked Route 320, the Inn's construction was preceded by the reimagining of the roads near the SEPTA station to ease traffic flow.

The college, Swarthmore Borough and SEPTA, as well as grants from the state, contributed to the $3.3 million overhaul of the roadway – which included creating a roundabout.

Representative of the efforts of the community and college to build and maintain a harmonious relationship, the Inn at Swarthmore marks big milestones for both the borough and the educational institution.

Aside from bringing the borough its first restaurant to serve alcohol, the Inn is also the first of its kind in the college town.

Before the Inn, prospective students and their families had to spend the night elsewhere.

Discounts are expected to be offered to students and their families, and the Inn will, of course, also be open to visitors who are not associated with Swarthmore College.

Built to LEED Silver standards, the Inn offers flexible floor plans for group events or social functions, and has about 3,500 square feet of meeting space. Guestrooms display art completed by current Swarthmore students, while the Inn's lobby and other public spaces feature works created by the college's alumni.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal