Campus Apartments is planning to open a new headquarters building featuring 136 new residential units and office space at 41st and Walnut streets in 2026.
David Adelman, the CEO of Campus Apartments — which provides housing for many Penn students who live off campus — wrote in an emailed statement that the next steps for development will be entitlement and demolition, which is currently planned to begin in 2024. The project will require leveling two residential buildings already owned by Campus Apartments, including the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house.
When asked for comment on the development, Heidi Wunder, the assistant director for Communications of Facilities & Real Estate Services, directed The Daily Pennsylvanian to Campus Apartments.
While the details of the living space — such as the distribution of apartment types — have not been finalized, the building is planned to contain retail space and the company's corporate headquarters, according to Adelman. Amenities will include fitness facilities and shared study spaces.
The living space will include studios as well as one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with a private bathroom per bedroom.
Chair of the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee Barry Grossbach told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “students are no longer interested in living with 10 other people in a house with two bathrooms."
The project is not planning on using Philadelphia's zoning bonuses that would exchange greater height and density in exchange for including more affordable housing and open space. The building will consist of a maximum of 162,000 square feet of space and be 10 to 11 stories tall.
Adelman, who is also involved in the proposed Philadelphia 76ers arena in Center City near Chinatown, told the Inquirer the company does not want the project to impact the townhomes located to the immediate south by taking on the zoning bonus. He added that Campus Apartments is very aware of its place in the community.
"Our headquarters have been in University City since 1958," Adelman wrote. "We wanted to stay true to our Philadelphia roots and remain in the city, specifically the University City neighborhood."
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