Temple growth spurring North Phila. development

Construction crews add walls and windows to the University Village, a new residence hall at 10th Street between Cecil B. Moore and Montgomery avenues. The three-building facility, financed entirely through private equity, will open in time for the fall 2004 semester.

A vibrant and flourishing campus life and unprecedented enrollment growth to more than 33,000 students are sparking a renaissance of revitalization at Main Campus, as well as commercial and residential development throughout Temple’s North Philadelphia neighborhood.

In partnership with private developers and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the University has embarked on a master plan for campus development to meet the needs of a dramatically growing student population.

As recently as the fall of 1998, Temple’s student population totaled 27,150, including 17,355 undergraduates. Five years later, in the fall of 2003, the student population had grown to nearly 32,900 including 22,215 undergraduates—a 28 percent increase. This growth can be attributed to a variety of factors: the University’s location near Center City, Philadelphia; the effects of the second baby boom; strengthened academics; and improved student amenities, including the 10,500-seat Liacouras Center complex and state-of-the-art IBC Student Recreation Center.

As a result of these and other factors, the number of students choosing to reside on or near Main Campus has increased. In five years, this number has more than doubled; 73 percent of new freshmen requested campus housing in fall 2003, compared to 40 percent of a much smaller freshman class in 1998.

After the opening of the 1,000-bed 1300 Residence Hall in the fall of 2001, the University made the decision to look beyond its own capital resources in order to build additional residential units. By creating the demand for student housing, Temple created a market that has spurred private developers to invest in North Philadelphia.

In August 2002, city officials, including Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street and Fifth District Councilman Darrell Clarke, joined Temple President David Adamany in cutting the ribbon on the renovated 186-unit, 500-bed Kardon Building. Built in the early 1900s as a textile factory, the virtually vacant 450,000-square-foot warehouse space on the eastern edge of campus has been transformed into upscale loft-style apartments through a unique University partnership with Philadelphia Management Corporation.

As a result of the immediate success of the Kardon project, the University entered into an additional agreement with Philadelphia Management Corporation to renovate the approximately 100,000-square-foot Atlantic Terminal Building, a former brewery adjacent to Kardon.

The Atlantic Terminal Building opened in the fall of 2003 and now houses approximately 180 students. Both of these renovations were financed through private equity and federal Historic Tax Credits.

The recently completed Entertainment and Community Education Center (ECEC) at the corner of 15th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue houses WRTI (90.1-FM) and Temple’s Partnership Schools program. The facility will also serve community residents by providing access to job listings, computers and educational and meeting space.

Nearby, construction of University Village, a mid-level apartment complex representing yet another Temple partnership, this time with Titan Investments, Inc. of Denver, is well under way and slated for an August 2004 opening. By financing the construction entirely through private equity and working in partnership with local elected officials, Temple was able to complete site assembly and secure all necessary approvals and zoning on a fast-track basis. The project, which will be completed within one year, will provide housing for an additional 750 students.

Across Broad Street on the western periphery of campus, Beech Interplex, one of the University’s neighboring community development corporations, is developing 225 housing units on 15th Street below Cecil B. Moore Avenue, just steps away from the Liacouras Center complex and the commercial development the University has spawned along that corridor.

“By creating the market and encouraging private developers to step up and meet the need, it allows us to dedicate Temple University capital to major projects in support of our academic mission and students,” Adamany noted.

Among the major projects that are part of a nearly $400 million capital improvement program planned by Temple over the next several years:

• The relocation of the Tyler School of Art from the suburbs to Main Campus. The new project, to be designed through a joint venture between award-winning architect Steven Holl and Temple graduate and former faculty member Emmanuel Kelly of the firm Kelly/Maiello, will bring Tyler’s 120 faculty and nearly 800 students to a new 255,000-square-foot-building at 12th and Diamond streets.

Located adjacent to the Boyer College of Music and Dance and the School of Communications and Theater, the new Tyler facility will anchor a mini-arts campus to be created on Temple’s northern tier. This arts enclave will enhance the artistic product of the campus and the city and foster greater public awareness of the arts. Expected completion is late 2006.

• Major expansion of the Fox School of Business and Management, including demolition of Curtis Hall and the construction of a new facility that will connect with Speakman Hall. The project includes approximately 190,000 square feet of new construction, designed by a joint venture between internationally renowned architect Michael Graves and Burt Hill Kosar Rittelman Associates. It will provide new state-of-the-art classrooms and lecture halls, as well as breakout space and faculty offices. Expected completion is late 2006.

• The recently completed Entertainment and Community Education Center (ECEC) on the corner of 15th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. The 61,000-square-foot structure, which includes street-level retail space, is the new home of WRTI, which began broadcasting from the ECEC March 1. The facility includes a performance studio for live broadcasts that can also be leased by cultural organizations for making commercial-quality recordings, benefiting Philadelphia’s cultural community. The ECEC will also serve as a major resource for community residents, providing access to job listings, computers and educational and meeting space. Additionally, the ECEC is home to Temple’s Partnership Schools program, a collaborative effort linking the University, the School District of Philadelphia and six public schools in the surrounding neighborhood.

• A second phase of renovations to the Student Center. Scheduled for completion in the summer of 2005, the construction will add 86,000 square feet to this hub of student activity.

• The renovation of a string of historic townhouses along the 1800 block of Liacouras Walk. The townhouses, which will retain their historic façade, will house essential student services, including health care, advising and the Academic Resource Center.

• At the Health Sciences Center, the design and construction of a new Medical School building. Nearby, construction has already begun on a new six-story parking garage.

• Restoration of the long-vacant Baptist Temple. Located on the corner of Broad Street and Berks Mall, the historically significant Baptist Temple was constructed in 1878 by the congregation of Temple founder Russell Conwell.

“This significant development of major capital projects designed to enhance teaching, research and University life—coupled with the infusion of new student housing—underscores the tremendous potential for economic development in and around Temple’s North Philadelphia neighborhood,” Adamany said.

“Temple will continue to invest in and support the growth of the local economy while fostering mutually supportive working relationships throughout the community,” he added. — Harriet Goodheart