With Fairmount Park to the north, Penn has always had reason to be jealous.
But now, the University is set to create a park of its own - a multi-acre piece of land set for development on campus.
The University finally secured possession of 24 acres of land formerly owned by the United States Postal Service to the east of campus. Plans for the area are starting to come into focus as administrators look to move forward on one of Penn Connect's biggest endeavors.
The "Penn Park" - the name that replaces the "postal lands" moniker for the area - will stretch between Walnut and South streets on the eastern edge of campus.
Penn is set to replace the Levy Tennis Pavilion outside the Palestra with a new green space that will allow for several additional athletic and recreational areas.
Eight firms are currently producing potential plans for the $40 million project, said Anne Papageorge, vice president for Facilities and Real Estate Services. Once the firm is selected, planning and construction will take about three years.
Papageorge said there are many clear goals that the University has in mind for Penn Park.
"We want to achieve a balance between active and passive recreation spaces" for both "formal" and "casual" sports, she said.
Those spaces will be connected to the existing campus by a grassy plaza area between Franklin Field and Hutchinson Gymnasium.
The plaza will connect to the fields via a walkway over the SEPTA railroad tracks in the area.
Twelve new tennis courts will be built near the fields to replace the Levy Pavilion.
Papageorge said Penn Park should more than make up for green space on campus that will be lost during other phases of the Penn Connects project, such as Hill Field, upon which a new College House is set for development.
Penn's Facilities Services spokesman Andrew Zitcer noted the University's past success in creating College Green, which once was crossed by Locust Street and Woodland Avenue, as a reason to be optimistic about the project.
Papageorge said the fields are planned in the Schuylkill River floodplain, an area prone to flooding and thus unsuitable for buildings.
Penn Park will include permeous surfaces to help eliminate storm-water runoff. Also, some areas will also be higher than others to allow for views of the city and to reduce problems created by building on the low area.
Papageorge said much is still in the hands of the developers.
"Master plans are constantly changing," she said.
The first phase of Penn Park, which will include the construction of the fields and the plaza, is set to be completed by the end of 2009.
