Drexel Lawn is a greenspace on the site of the former Myers Hall.
By: Alan Greenberger, Vice President of Real Estate and Facilities
Welcome back to campus. As in the past, summer is a busy time for Drexel Real Estate and Facilities, as we are getting the University City Campus ready for the beginning of the fall term. Highlights of our activity, as well as that of our development partners, are described in this update.
“Drexel Lawn” Recreational Field
The “front lawn for students” on the site of the former Myers Residence Hall at 33rd and Race streets has been open since late November and just wrapped up its first spring and summer as the focal point of residential life for students. As the landscape matures over the next several years, the Drexel Lawn will only become more attractive. We encourage everyone to go there and get a taste of traditional campus living in a vibrant urban environment.
McGonigal Academic Resource Center
A gift from alumnus and trustee Patrick McGonigal ’86 has allowed us to complete the first phase of renovations to the Academic Resource Center on the ground floor of the Korman Center. The move relocates the Center for Learning and Academic Success Services (CLASS) to a more prominent and visible location in the center of the University City Campus. A second gift, also from McGonigal, is allowing us to do the design work necessary for the second and final phase of renovations, which will take place in 2026. The ARC, as it is known, serves as a hub for academic services, including tutoring, academic coaching and specialized courses, and it is heavily used by students.
Rally House at Drexel University.
Rally House at Drexel University
Rally House, a company well known in Philadelphia for its sports fan gear, has opened as the new proprietor of the University store at the corner of 33rd and Chestnut streets in the space formerly occupied by the Barnes & Noble at Drexel University. You will also notice a small renovation initiated by the University at the end of the store nearest the DragonCard office. The renovation allows unfettered access to the store from the plaza side while maintaining secure entry to the Creese Student Center/MacAlister Hall complex for our community.
Partnership Projects
University City’s private development boom, particularly in the biosciences, helps to fulfill several critical goals for the University: more co-op and career opportunities for our students, and more collaborative research opportunities for our faculty. For Drexel, the transition from static parking lots to a dynamic innovation neighborhood adjacent to our core campus is profound and will deliver an extraordinary new vibrancy to campus. We will not only see new innovative businesses in our midst, but also new residences and street-level retail.
At 3151 Market St., Brandywine Realty Trust has completed the building’s core and shell and is ready for tenant occupancy. A ground-level Starbucks is now open, along with the recently opened Fine Wine & Good Spirits store. Over at 3025 Market St. — the former Philadelphia Bulletin Building — a food court is being completed and should be open later this fall.
A major project for manufacturing in the biotech sector is being completed at 3001 Chestnut St. Spark Therapeutics, a company started and grown here in University City, was acquired by Roche Pharmaceuticals and is now part of the Roche/Genentech family of businesses. The project will begin occupancy early in 2026 but will not be fully operational as a manufacturing facility until 2027.
At 3201 Cuthbert St., Gattuso Development Partners has completed the core and shell of their building, which is specifically designed for labs. Leasing is in progress. Expect to see significant new retail along 33rd Street as the project evolves.
And finally, at the western end of the University City Campus, Wexford Science & Technology has been infusing street life in and around One uCity Square with events, programming and new dining opportunities, particularly along 37th Street and at the Anova Residences on Lancaster Avenue.
Take care when using 34th Street Station, as some staircases are closed for construction.
34th Street SEPTA Station
A long-awaited modernization of the 34th Street SEPTA subway station has started. It will be under construction for at least 18 months. Expect some closures of stairwells down to the station while they are being renovated. A new elevator is being installed on Market Street that, together with a second elevator that accesses the platform level, will make the station fully accessible.
Elevator Repairs
You may notice that some elevators have been out of service. As with old cars, finding replacement parts for some of our equipment can be a challenge due to a very complicated supply chain. Our elevator maintenance company, Elite Elevator, does an incredible job keeping our systems running. But despite best efforts, we sometimes have to shut elevators down and wait for parts. Please be patient and follow posted signage. We are working hard to get these elevators operational as soon as possible.
Summer Utility Rollbacks and Ongoing Roadwork
In addition to campus renewal, summer also brings two other inevitabilities: very hot weather that strains our cooling systems and construction work on city streets.
As a major user of electricity, Drexel voluntarily participates in a program that asks us to roll back our electrical use during limited peak times or during an emergency. These rollbacks are infrequent, but when they do happen, we sometimes have to suspend cooling in our non-lab spaces for a few hours at a time. Air systems continue to circulate air, but temperatures can go up. We apologize to anyone who has been inconvenienced by this program. It is all being done to maintain the integrity of the regional power grid.
You are undoubtedly aware that Market Street, east of 32nd Street and across the river into Center City, is undergoing major repair and renovation by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Much of this section is actually bridgework over both the subway and road levels below. There are significant amounts of substructure that need to be inspected and repaired where necessary, so traffic can be significant through this area at various times of day. In addition to checking the Market Street Bridges Project website for updates, please be mindful of temporary lane changes and be especially careful crossing the street.
How to Get the Latest Facilities Updates
You can opt in to receive email notifications of construction work, scheduled utility shutoffs and other scheduled maintenance work being performed by Real Estate and Facilities by sending an email to listserv@lists.drexel.edu with only the following information in the body of the message: subscribe facilities-notices-L.
For the latest information on Drexel’s free bus service, including real-time tracking and alerts, download Drexel Transit, powered by the TripShot app, for iOS or Android. On the Setup screen, enter “Drexel” as the Service Name and click Next. Select “Log in with Drexel Connect” and sign in with your Drexel user ID and password (the same credentials you use to access the DrexelOne portal).
In addition to updates like this one in DrexelNEWS, we also post Facilities Notices (shutoffs, outages, repairs, construction) to a feed that appears on the Drexel Real Estate and Facilities homepage, and we track the progress of major Drexel and partner projects on campus via the Current Projects page.