Area leaders worry about local effects of Sansom Common

Neighborhood leaders hope the project will not detract from efforts to improve the western edge of campus. Although many community leaders welcome Sansom Common as a positive addition to University City, several prominent figures expressed concern that the project represents the University's abandonment of long-standing plans to revitalize the 40th Street area. "Does this concentration of development at 36th Street mean the University will turn its back on the community and keep the students inside?" Spruce Hill Community Association Secretary Maria Oyaski asked. "Pushing the students to the heart of campus with Sansom Common might be an attempt to build [a barrier] between the students and the community," she added. Last fall, University President Judith Rodin announced a master plan for campus facilities, which targeted both the northern and western boarders of campus for enhancement. In July, the SHCA sent a letter to Rodin articulating complaints that preliminary plans for Sansom Common were made "in the complete absence of input from the major civic organizations representing the community," and that the group had found out about the project's groundbreaking from a newspaper. And History Professor and West Philadelphia resident Lynn Lees charged yesterday that "there was no process of consultation about the needs of anyone beyond the University itself" in the decision to build Sansom Common. Lees said she would have preferred to have seen the bookstore built on 40th Street and stressed that the new retail hub should extend further west into University City. But Real Estate Managing Director Tom Lussenhop emphasized "the 40th Street investments are of the highest priority to the University -- it is and has been an active part of the University initiative." Both sides agree that the relationship between the University and the community is strong and has been improving recently, with many local leaders expressing strong support for the Sansom Common project. "I think that any development that replaces a parking lot in the middle of the University is a plus, and that the University is creating a center of opportunities for students," said Barry Grossbach, SHCA's zoning chairperson. A parking lot in the heart of campus "does not exactly give vibrance to the area, and neither does the 'stunning' architecture of the surrounding area," Grossbach said. He praised Penn for thinking "creatively" about what sorts of retail are attractive to both the student population and the surrounding community. Urban and Bye real estate agent and SHCA Second Vice President Melanie Lamond said the area needs a project like Sansom Common because "nobody is gonna come to University City just for the Uni-Mart." She added that if the recently opened "Mad 4 Mex is any indication of the success of the businesses coming to University City, then I think Sansom Common will be wildly successful." SHCA President Joe Ruane said the issues raised in the letter to Rodin are "behind us at this point," and that the University is being "fairly cooperative" with its plans to hire community members as Sansom Common employees. Lees said University officials are doing a better job of consulting residents than they did a year ago, adding that "things [between the University and the surrounding community] have definitely improved."