The Academic Building is shedding scaffolding.
By: Jon Chase, Vice President of Real Estate and Facilities
To kick off 2026, Drexel University’s Real Estate and Facilities teams have been busy supporting the continued advancement of several projects across the University City Campus and other Drexel locations. As always, we have a group of committed design, construction and maintenance professionals who are working hard to stay ahead of issues and make improvements to campus.
Drexel Projects
Academic Building Façade
A major project to rebuild and repair the Academic Building’s façade at 101 N. 33rd St. is nearing completion, and the building looks great. Most of the scaffolding that was up for many months has been removed at the time of this posting. Work should be complete by the end of April.
Food Lab
Behind the nicely repaired façade of the Academic Building, a renovation of spaces occupied by the College of Nursing and Health Professions’ Food Lab that will improve the technology and quality of the spaces will be complete by May.
Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) Weight Room
Varsity athletes will be getting a long-needed expansion and upgrade to the DAC weight room. Space that was formerly occupied by a Pilates studio is being incorporated into a new, larger weight room with upgraded finishes and lighting, expected to be open sometime during the spring quarter.
Maguire Field
The artificial turf at Maguire Field at the Vidas Athletic Complex is being replaced during the spring and summer. Work will be completed by August.
Friel Soccer Locker Room
Bolstered by a donation from a generous soccer supporter, the men’s locker room and bathrooms will be upgraded with new finishes, larger lockers, lighting, improved windows and mechanical systems. The project will be completed by August.
Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy
Did you know Drexel has an impressive building on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in Center City? The Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy, located at 1200 Chestnut St., is part of the Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Improvements and repairs to the building are ongoing this spring, supported by a donor gift. This work includes interior repair of damaged glass panels, cleaning and repair of stonework, and the addition of new exterior gates on Chestnut Street entrance side.
3201 Cuthbert Street is a partnership project with Gattuso Development Partners.
Partnership Projects
3151 Market at Schuylkill Yards
Brandywine Realty Trust has finished work on this lab and office building and is actively leasing the space. Since our last update, a digital ribbon board was installed on the building that animates the intersection throughout the day.
3201 Cuthbert Street
Drexel is partnered with Gattuso Development Partners on a significant, ongoing design effort to produce complete construction documents for the relocation of College of Medicine research facilities to this location. Drexel’s Planning, Design and Construction team is working with faculty, staff and administrators across Drexel to make an aggressive relocation schedule possible. Design work will be completed in April, and we expect occupants to begin moving into the Drexel space in the spring of 2027. Drexel will occupy approximately three floors of this building. Meanwhile, Gattuso has completed the Cuthbert Street walkway between 32nd and 33rd streets, creating a new, essential east/west pathway on campus.
New College Building
In December 2025, Iron Stone Real Estate Partners donated the New College Building (NCB) to Drexel. The building currently primarily houses several College of Medicine research functions. As the 3201 Cuthbert St. project continues to move ahead, research functions will be relocated there from NCB.
SEPTA Station Upgrades
SEPTA is currently working on updates to its 34th Street Station below street level. In the next several months, work is expected to begin on the construction of a new street-level elevator at the southeast corner of 34th and Market streets. Future upgrades are also planned for SEPTA’s 33rd Street trolley station, including a new street-level elevator. These improvements will enhance accessibility to the stations.
Ongoing Infrastructure and Roadways
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot) and PECO are continuing construction and repair work, mostly east of the University City Campus, that requires lane closures and traffic diversions, primarily along Market Street. Among other items, this project includes the relocation of a major electrical duct bank buried directly in the center of Market Street. We recognize the disruption this has caused and are in communication with PennDot and PECO about issues that emerge. The timeline for completion of this work will become clearer in the coming months. Consult PennDOT’s Market Street Bridges Rehabilitation Project website for the most up-to-date information.
How to Get the Latest Facilities Updates
Construction, maintenance and utility 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 emailing listserv@lists.drexel.edu with only the following information in the body of the message: subscribe facilities-notices-L.
Bus service updates: For the latest information, 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).
Real estate and facilities website: Facilities Notices (shutoffs, outages, repairs, construction) are posted to a feed that appears on the homepage, and progress updates for major Drexel and partner projects on campus are posted on the Current Projects page.