UCD celebrates opening of new headquarters

University City District safety ambassadors will be able to work more closely with city police from their new home. Although they may wear differently colored shirts, the University City District's yellow-coated Safety Ambassadors and the blue-uniformed officers of the Philadelphia Police Department are now working together towards a common goal. The two agencies jointly occupy the new UCD operations center, which was dedicated Tuesday at a ceremony that united city leaders, Penn officials and community residents in celebration of the new facility and the partnership between the UCD and the Police Department. In addition to housing UCD headquarters and the organization's 40 safety ambassadors -- unarmed officers who patrol University City and assist pedestrians -- the building will also be home to a police substation where 25 officers from the 16th and 18th Districts will report. The UCD is a two-year old organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in University City. The $1.7 million building has rooms for administrative offices, lockers, roll call, police operations and the safety ambassadors. The roll call room will allow the officers and safety ambassadors to meet together twice a day, which is significantly more often than the two groups' former bi-weekly meetings. "Seeing these extra uniformed officers out there -- regardless of whether the uniform's yellow or blue -- makes a big, big difference," said Mayor Ed Rendell, one of the ceremony's speakers. UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke echoed Rendell's sentiments, explaining that the organizations' new partnership underscores the UCD's credo: "Making it Better, Working Together." "Our collaborations with the Philadelphia Police represents another in a series of collaborations designed to improve the quality of life in University City," Steinke said. Steinke said that the police and safety ambassadors can now "share information on crime patterns, develop coordinated deployment strategies and strengthen a rapport that will translate into continued improvement in public safety in University City." The ceremony was moderated by University Executive Vice President John Fry, who is also chairperson of the UCD Board of Directors. Praising University City as the "best kept secret in the city of Philadelphia," Fry lauded the UCD's accomplishments and thanked those who contributed to the planning and construction of the new facility. "University City is cleaner, University City is safer, University City is hot," Fry said. Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney also addressed the several hundred University administrators, local politicians and West Philadelphia community members in attendance at Tuesday's ceremony. Timoney praised the collaborative effort, stressing the importance of "police and the community service officers actually work[ing] together and turn[ing] out together at roll call." The center, located at 3940-42 Chestnut Street, is a combination of a one-story renovated building -- formerly occupied by a Horn & Hardart restaurant -- and a new, single-story addition. The building covers a total of 10,000 square feet. The building cost $1.3 million to construct, while another $400,000 was put towards furnishing and supplying the center. The construction was funded through a no-interest loan by the University. The UCD will pay the building's operational costs and will repay the University through corporate and foundation funding. The UCD is currently fundraising for the money to repay that loan, and many contributors -- including Aramark, Bell Atlantic Corporations, Mellon Bank and the William Penn Foundation -- have already contributed funds. Rendell said Tuesday that the city of Philadelphia will also help cover the costs of construction. In addition, all of the members of the project team, including the architects, engineers and construction managers, discounted or donated services to the planning and construction of the new building, Steinke said. The center's groundbreaking took place last October and the UCD's offices moved into the facility earlier this month. The University owns the former restaurant's building and will rent it to the UCD for $1 each year.

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