Left Bank to open doors in January

The blueprints are done, the construction is underway and starting tomorrow, prospective tenants and a curious public will get their first look inside the Left Bank luxury apartment complex. Although the 32nd and Walnut streets building's official opening isn't slated until January, officials are looking for tenants to fill the luxury housing intended for Penn affiliated professionals and faculty. Already over 70 people have contacted the Left Bank leasing office, interested in becoming tenants in the building University officials hope will be the eastern gateway to Penn's campus. "I think we're going to out-Cambridge Cambridge," developer Carl Dranoff said. In February 1999, Penn announced its plans to convert the former General Electric building into a 700,000-square-foot apartment complex, complete with retail, a day care center, on-site gated parking and a 4,500-square-foot glass-enclosed fitness center. The building was originally slated to be completed this fall. "We've breathed life into the entire building," said Dranoff, famous for his transformations of old run-down buildings into attractive, contemporary housing. Left Bank, his 68th building conversion, is one of the nation's biggest building revitalization projects. While Penn owns both the land and the 71-year-old building, Dranoff's company is paying for all of the renovations -- projected at $58 million -- and will manage the complex for 40 years, with an additional 10-year renewal option. The property will then revert back under Penn's management. The 282 apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, will feature large bathrooms, 12-foot ceilings and windows that will either face out to the city or into the inner court yard. Sixth-floor tenants will begin moving into housing units by the beginning of January. By then, the first floor -- including the lobby, two conference rooms and the library -- will also be completed. Each subsequent month, a floor of housing units, starting from the top down, will be ready for occupation. The entire building is expected to be completed by May. According to Left Bank Marketing Director Paulla Baron, the apartment units will be priced competitively, with projected monthly rents at about $1,125 for studios, $1,440 for one-bedrooms and $2,070 for two-bedrooms. Members of the Graduate Student Associations Council praised Left Bank as an impressive step toward increasing housing options for graduate students wanting to live closer to campus. But a few felt that the pricing -- while appropriate for graduate professionals and Penn faculty -- excluded Ph.D students on stipends. "It's the quality of life of Center City without the transportation problems," said third-year student Jeff Casello, the GSAC vice president of communications. However, Casello said he would prefer more practically priced housing options. Retail shops on the ground floor will line both the Chestnut and Walnut sides of the building, offering gourmet take-out, a bank, a drugstore and a La Calomb coffee bar. GSAC President Eric Eisenstein said he thinks Left Bank will be successful because of the current lack of graduate housing near Penn. He added that it will serve as a bridge between Center City and West Philadelphia. "It adds traffic and people to what is otherwise a deserted area," Eisenstein said. Equipped with "smart wire" high-speed Internet access, Left Bank will also be wireless, allowing tenants to get online from anywhere in the building. On-site gated parking, which will continue underneath the building, will offer 258 parking spaces. And Dranoff Properties spent over four months removing about 18,000 cubic feet of concrete from the center of the building for what will become a landscaped atrium. According to Baron, applications for occupancy must include evidence of at least one year of good credit history, a viable source of income to support rent and landlord verification. Co-signers will not be accepted. These terms make it almost impossible for undergraduates to be approved.

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