Houston Hall retail, student groups prepare for building closing

The University is helping some Houston Hall merchants find new retail space near campus. Just as the University is offering selected retailers from the soon-to-be-demolished Book Store complex replacement space on campus, officials are picking and choosing which Houston Hall retailers will continue to have a piece of Penn's retail pie when the facility closes for renovations in May. About a dozen merchants will be forced out of Houston Hall when it closes for renovations May 29 due to the creation of the $69 million Perelman Quadrangle, which will eventually link College, Logan, Houston and Williams halls with Irvine Auditorium. The building is scheduled to reopen at the end of 1999. Although University officials are actively working to find space for a select group of retailers -- Rose's Florist, University Copy Service and Auntie Anne's Pretzels -- several owners and managers of other stores said they have not received any assistance from Penn. University Photo and Electronics, Pizza Pitt, Subway, CDs to Go, Hair House, Muffins 'n' More and University Bagels are among the stores that appear likely to leave campus. Tom Baltaeff, owner of University Photo and Electronics, said that while Penn officials initially claimed in meetings with the retailers that they would help the displaced merchants find space, the task is now being left to the owners themselves. "Each meeting, the tone was more encouraging us to get cracking," Baltaeff said. "We really are on our own trying to find spots." University officials counter that they have always made it clear to the merchants that they were responsible for their relocation. "I think we expressed in the spring that it was going to be a two-way street," said John Greenwood, managing director of University City Associates, Penn's for-profit real estate arm. "Success in relocating them would be based on both of our efforts." Greenwood said the University has chosen to work with the businesses that add to the diversity of the Penn campus and fits into the University's "merchandising strategy." Pizza Pitt manager John Kazantzidis said the business is still waiting for an offer from the University. But there is no replacement space available as of yet, he said. "We are not a big franchise so it is harder for us," Kazantzidis said. "We will probably be on unemployment." Greenwood said he has worked with the Pizza Pitt to find space, but he "couldn't find a home for them in a mutually accessible location." The owner of Subway, who refused to give his name, said he has been offered space in the food court in the 3401 Walnut Street complex and the 3900 block of Chestnut Street, but neither of these were suitable locations for his business. He said he is currently waiting for another offer from UCA. Jason Dengler, manager of CD's to Go, said the store's owner -- who owns a couple of other stores in the area -- is going to close the store and move to a location at the nearby Drexel University campus. For other businesses, however, their future at Penn seems bright. University Copy Service owner Luerell Mapp said he is currently working with Penn and UCA to reach an agreement on a possible site on the 3900 block of Chestnut Street. He stressed that the move is "tentative," since neither a lease nor a letter of intent has been signed. Mapp added that although figures have not yet been finalized, he believes the rent at the new location will be reasonable. Greenwood said UCA is working with both Rose's Florist and Auntie Anne's to relocate their businesses to either the 3401 Walnut Street complex or the Hamilton Village shopping center on 40th Street. And Dick Root, the owner of the Auntie Anne's franchise in Houston Hall, confirmed that he is working with the University to relocate to another on-campus location. Root attributes the University's efforts to the fact that "we have a unique product that is popular with students." Although Root would not comment on the location of the new site or the rent, he said that the University's price is "commensurate with the traffic we will get." Mahmoud Toroghi, a Penn graduate and the owner of Rose's Florist, said he is negotiating with the University to find space for his 16-year-old business.