A campus moves forward

Alumni visiting for homecoming this weekend may find the retail areas on 39th and 40th streets unrecognizable.

As recently as the mid 1990s, the southwest corner of the 40th and Walnut streets intersection was occupied by a surface parking lot and a Burger King.

Today it is home to Marathon Grill and the Bridge movie theater, which opened in 2004 and 2003, respectively.

And the stores along 40th St. between Walnut and Locust streets are also fairly new additions to campus retail.

This past summer, the Radian - a new apartment complex and retail area - opened, replacing a single-level strip of retail stores. Students began living in the apartments this year, and the retail stores are expected to open by the end of 2008.

In fact, said Facilities and Real Estate spokesperson Tony Sorrentino, the only stores remaining in the area from the 1990s are Smokey Joe's, McDonald's and Campus Copy Center.

"It wasn't long ago when things looked very different," Sorrentino said. "In less than eight years, the intersection of 40th and Walnut has been completely transformed."

For alumni and store owners who have witnessed the evolution of campus buildings and retail stores, the change has been dramatic.

"Walnut and 39th was never really much of anything," said '96 College alum Jason Aschenbrand. Aschenbrand added that he likes the increase of availability in off-campus housing.

"The area's gotten tremendously better and it improves every year," said Paul Ryan, general manager at Smoke's, which has remained a stronghold on 40th Street since it opened in 1933.

Ryan, who has worked at the popular campus bar since 1974, noted that most of the changes have been additions of stores, heightened safety and increased lighting.

He added that he has also seen 10 to 15 restaurants "come and go" since he began working, though "we don't fluctuate that much in terms of customers - it's still students."

According to Sorrentino, changes in retail have occurred as part of initiatives launched in the mid-1990s called the West Philadelphia Initiatives by then-Penn President Judith Rodin. She believed that the University should work across multiple disciplines to make the area a better place to live and do business.

At the time, crime was high and the buildings were often vacant and in poor condition.

"The University realized that the health and safety of West Philadelphia is related to the health and safety of Penn," Sorrentino said.

The initiative had five goals, one of which was to enhance the retail offerings.

Other goals included improving the area's cleanliness, safety and education, increasing home ownership and urging more of the West Philadelphia community to invest in Penn's economy.

Ed Datz, the executive director of real estate, wrote in an e-mail that the University worked with students, faculty and members of the Spruce Hill Association to determine what stores would best meet the community's needs.

The University also beautified the 40th Street strip from Locust to Walnut by painting the exterior, planting trees, installing lights and adding outdoor furniture.

In regards to the construction of The Radian, Datz wrote that the University thought the 3900 block of Walnut Street would be a prime location for a building that combined residential and retail areas.

The changes that have already occurred around 40th Street are proof of the potential that exists for the future of the area.

"I'd like to see more residential developments - I think the Radian was a nice addition," Ryan said.

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