A 14-acre, $3.5 billion neighborhood of glassy skyscrapers and manicured green spaces is slowly being built just west of 30th Street Station. Dubbed Schuylkill Yards, the development is a partnership between Drexel University, which owns the land, and Brandywine Realty Trust, the Philly-based real estate giant that built the nearby Cira Center and FMC office towers. Brandywine has so far completed one new building — a 28-story office, residential and retail building on JFK Boulevard — and this week it held a “topping out” ceremony for a 12-story life science building that’s under construction on Market Street. It has also renovated the historic Bulletin Building on Market Street near 30th into offices and lab space for Spark Therapeutics, and created an adjoining 1.3-acre public park, called Drexel Square. When they announced the project in 2016, Drexel president John Fry and Brandywine CEO Jerry Sweeney described it as proof of the city’s economic vitality, as well as an opportunity for “inclusive development” that would directly benefit lower-income residents of surrounding West Philly neighborhoods like Mantua, West Powelton and Belmont. Fry has vowed not to “disrupt the fabric” of those neighborhoods. The developer is providing funding for community organizations and says it’s encouraging tenants to give work to local businesses. Read more about the project here.
Source: Billy Penn; 10/25/2023