Soon, students won't have to even leave their homes to get their favorite brand of coffee when the construction on the 3900 block of Walnut Street is complete.
Slated for completion in the fall of 2008, the high-rise apartment building will house 500 students who will have access to two stories of retail space designed to foster deeper connections between Penn and West Philadelphia, University officials said at yesterday's ceremonial groundbreaking.
"As the 40th Street corridor has come to life in the past couple of years, we've seen great benefits from the seamless connection between our University and the vibrant neighborhoods to our West," Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli said.
When completed, the 14-story building, known as the Radian, will contain about 150 residential units 40,000 square feet of retail space, which Penn President Amy Gutmann said would be a boon to the University City economy.
She also praised the building's green design, with a roof design that won an award in Southeastern Pennsylvania for stormwater management practices, as well as efforts by Penn and the building's developers, University Partners and Inland American Communities, to include area residents and minorities in its construction.
The one discordant note in the ceremony came from Jannie Blackwell, the city councilwoman who represents Penn's district.
While acknowledging the positive effects of more retail space on area, she disagreed with Gutmann on the success of the project's hiring practices.
"You've got to do better with community participation," she admonished Gutmann. "You have to do better with minority participation."
Despite the groundbreaking, construction actually began at the beginning of the summer.
