Developers revealed the first major building at Philadelphia’s Schuylkill Yards, a $3.5 billion project for Drexel University.
Curbed Philadelphia reports that an exec from the developer, Brandywine Realty Trust, shared plans for a 700,000-sf property that will have a lab and offices.
The building will be one of the centerpieces for the project at University City, a section of the eastern edge of Philadelphia next to the Schuylkill River that houses Drexel along with the University of Pennsylvania and University of the Sciences.
With 14 acres of underutilized land and 6.5 acres of public space, SHoP Architects and West 8 will transform the neighborhood into an innovation hub. Schuylkill Yards will have a bit of everything: educational facilities, research labs, corporate offices, retail shops, and hospitality and cultural venues. The existing One Drexel Plaza will be turned into 1.3-acres worth of multifunctional public space.
“The plan envisions a new gateway to University City — one that is dynamic, diverse, open and inviting,” SHoP said on its website.
Along with the mixed-use buildings, the neighborhood will have 2 million sf of living areas, including one residential tower that will have both luxury and market rate units.
Developers expect Schuylkill Yards to generate economic growth for the city, due to its access to talented individuals and capital. A nearby Amtrak stop connects the district to cities in the Northeast Corridor, and it’s only seven miles away from the Philadelphia International Airport.
The lab and office building will not be completed until 2020 and the entire project will take 20 years to build.
Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge.
Related Stories
| Aug 14, 2013
Five projects receive 2013 Educational Facility Design Excellence Award
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has selected five educational and cultural facilities for this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 12, 2013
New York’s first net-zero school will be a sustainability lab for city school system
An elementary school on Staten Island will be the first net-zero energy school in New York City and the Northeast. The school is designed to use half the energy of a typical New York public school. Construction will be completed in 2015.
| Aug 8, 2013
Energy research animates science sector [2013 Giants 300 Report]
After an era of biology-oriented spending—largely driven by Big Pharma and government concerns about bioterrorism—climate change is reshaping priorities in science and technology construction.
| Aug 8, 2013
Top Science and Technology Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Affiliated Engineers, Middough, URS top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest science and technology sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Aug 8, 2013
Top Science and Technology Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
HDR, Perkins+Will, HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest science and technology sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Aug 8, 2013
Top Science and Technology Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Skanska, DPR, Suffolk top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest science and technology sector contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Aug 6, 2013
Renovation of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study yields oldest LEED-certified building in U.S.
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study recently achieved LEED-NC v3 Gold certification for its renovation of the historic Fay House, making it the oldest LEED-certified building in the United States.
| Jul 31, 2013
15 innovations impacting higher education
Colleges must become more nimble, entrepreneurial, student-focused, and accountable for what students learn, according to Steven Mintz, Executive Director of the University of Texas system’s Institute for Transformational Learning. Mintz offers 15 innovations in higher education.
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
