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  #1  
Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 3:37 PM
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PHILADELPHIA | uCity Square Future Phases | 4 towers | 17, 17, 16, & 15 FLOORS

The University City Science Center and Wexford Science and Technology will build uCity Square on the old site of the University City High School. Total build out for the site will include 4 million square feet of office/lab/commercial, retail and residential space across 10 buildings. Four building will top 12 or more floors, the remaining six buildings will rise 4 to 10 floors in height.

uCity Square Office Tower 1: 17 floors
uCity Square Office Tower 2: 16 floors
uCity Square Office Tower 3: 16 floors
uCity Square Hotel Tower: 15 floors







http://ucitysquare.com/

Title: uCity Square
Project: Office Space, Commercial space, lab space, retail, residential, elementary school, green space
Architect: ZGF Architects
Developer: University City Science center and Wexford Science & Technology
Location: Between 36th, 38th, Filbert and Powelton Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Neighborhood: University City
District: West Philadelphia
Floors: 17, 16, 16, 15 floors
Height: ?? feet

Quote:
The area will be branded “uCity Square — A Community of Ingenuity” and will seek to be the epicenter of “innovation and collaboration between the private sector and top-tier research institutions such as University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University.”

Large-scale projects, such as uCity Square, make not only educational and research institutions more competitive but also the city – helping to spur economic development activity throughout the region. These sort of developments seek to harness the confluence of innovation and academic pursuits that ultimately translate into new business development.

The Science Center with its development partner plan to build high-density, mixed-use projects that aim to create a cohesive community that is active throughout the day and not just during business hours.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...st-philly.html

Quote:
The University City Science Center campus is getting a new name - uCity Square - that its leaders hope captures better the inclusive urban vibe they are seeking to cultivate at the West Philadelphia site.

Though the science center itself will continue as a business incubator and research hub under its current name, the campus on which it operates is being rebranded as part of its $1 billion expansion in partnership with developer Wexford Science & Technology, officials announced Tuesday.

"UCity Square will be a true mixed-use community comprised of offices and lab space for companies of all sizes, while adding more residents and neighbors to the mix with shopping, dining, housing, and jobs," Stephen Tang, the center's chief executive, said in prepared remarks.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...YUMyoshM4GV.99

Last edited by summersm343; Jun 19, 2019 at 4:14 AM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 4:33 PM
McBane McBane is offline
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I'm a little confused. I didn't see any mention of the specific floor count or number of buildings that are going to be constructed now. I read it as more of a long term plan. Where did the "4 towers | 27, 15, 13 & 12 FLOORS" come from?
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Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 4:36 PM
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Originally Posted by McBane View Post
I'm a little confused. I didn't see any mention of the specific floor count or number of buildings that are going to be constructed now. I read it as more of a long term plan. Where did the "4 towers | 27, 15, 13 & 12 FLOORS" come from?
I counted the floors of the buildings depicted in the renderings. I understand these floor counts might not be set in stone, but it's an estimate until we get more in depth figures. I'm only including the buildings north of Filbert in this thread, since there is already a thread for 3601 Market, 3675 Market, 3400 Market and 3800 Market and obviously 3701, 3711 and 3737 Market are already completed.

North of Filbert, there look to be 10 buildings. The floor counts for the buildings look like 27, 15, 13, 12, 10, 10, 8, 6, 4, 4. We'll see what the official numbers are when they move forward.
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Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 9:37 PM
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Hip to be uCity Square: Science Center Unveils Vision, New Name



Photo of the site

Quote:
Market Street is exploding with development, and the University City Science Center is looking to position it campus as the western anchor of Philadelphia’s burgeoning innovation corridor. That starts with re-thinking about what the Science Center has been, what it is today and what it’s going to become.

The answer to that last bit was unveiled yesterday on the rooftop of a parking structure that will eventually become the corner of the soon-to-be re-introduced 37th and Market Street. As both a brand and a place, the Science Center will henceforth be known as uCity Square.

"Science Center’s campus for over 50 years has been largely two-dimensional with buildings on both sides of Market Street," said Dr. Stephen Tang, President and CEO of the University City Science Center. "This is really a third dimension, the whole uCity Square concept."

The massive development project will see the Science Center swell from over 1 million square-feet to 6 million square-feet by the time the 10-year, $1 billion (plus) plan is completed. The addition of the University City High School site directly north of Market Street makes it all possible to create this new live/work/play environment, with what developers Wexford Science + Technology call "a community of ingenuity" full of a mix cutting edge lab, office and retail space.

With Comcast building a second tower, Independence Blue Cross taking over the 1900 block of Market, a world-class Eds and Meds sector, the expansion of the Navy Yard, Drexel's nearby Innovation Neighborhood and a tech scene emerging in neighborhoods like Old City and Midtown Village, Philadelphia is rapidly making a case as a rising center for innovation. It just needs to become a "known" player on the scene.

"The kind of vibe we’d like to have here is similar to what they have in Mission Bay, San Francisco, Where they have a residential component tied to the actual office and lab for innovation," said Tang. "It’s actually something that goes beyond what iconic places like Kendall Square have. Kendall Square has great space for labs and offices, but not much in terms of residential or retail. I think that we’re hoping to bring all that together."

Reagan explained they have what amounts to essentially six development pads,"they’re all sized so that they accommodate a center core for a lab office building or a residential building." The first two projects include 3675 Market, which is currently a parking garage and will bring back 37th Street and connect it through the site to Lancaster Avenue, and a low-rise residential building at the where Lancaster and Powelton avenues meet at the north end of the development.

"We anticipate that, besides the low-rise residential up against Lancaster and Powelton, that there is the opportunity," Reagan explained, "if the market demand is such, that we could accommodate another, in this case, mid rise or high rise residential on the scale of 3601 Market or the scale of 3737 Chestnut … around 300 to 350 units."

Any to ensure the next crop of innovators doesn't live and work in an environment as sterile as one of the clean rooms in the Science Center, the new neighborhood will be anchored by walkable streets, plenty of retail and a lively square, which Reagan referred to as the" College Green" of the Science Center. "uCity Square will become that kind of place ... a signature outdoor space," he said.

Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/property/20...S2TVIgrV5tz.99
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  #5  
Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 10:58 PM
3rd&Brown 3rd&Brown is offline
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I have to think this is being developed with at least one or two somewhat sizeable tenants in mind.

Penn has a lot of partnerships brewing with Novartis and other pharmaceutical companies from what I know from my personal relationships (i.e. friends who are scientists at Penn). The partnerships are focused on commercialization of discoveries made in Penn Labs...I have to think that there is enough productive work being done in these labs at this point that there might be critical mass to co-locate pharma space nearby to keep the company scientists close to the academics.

This has already happened in Cambridge with Novartis, Sanofi, and others who have only opened facilities in that area in the past ten years and now employ literally thousands. I just checked and Novartis has almost 3,000 employees in Cambridge. Sanofi has 1,600. Biogen has 2,600 and Pfizer has 1,000.

MIT and Harvard were about 10-15 years ahead of Penn in establishing these relationships. In fact, I recall when Novartis built their first building in Cambridge...it may have been only 8 years ago.

Something is definitely happening. And it could be huge. I don't think this contiguous space is being lined up for a bunch of small scale start ups (although that's needed as well). I think these massive blocks are being assembled/proposed/pitched with particular companies in mind.

Here's to hoping.

Now for Google. Time for them to open an office in town as well. Maybe Comcast can help with that.
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Old Posted Sep 19, 2015, 10:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown View Post
I have to think this is being developed with at least one or two somewhat sizeable tenants in mind.

Penn has a lot of partnerships brewing with Novartis and other pharmaceutical companies from what I know from my personal relationships (i.e. friends who are scientists at Penn). The partnerships are focused on commercialization of discoveries made in Penn Labs...I have to think that there is enough productive work being done in these labs at this point that there might be critical mass to co-locate pharma space nearby to keep the company scientists close to the academics.

This has already happened in Cambridge with Novartis, Sanofi, and others who have only opened facilities in that area in the past ten years and now employ literally thousands. I just checked and Novartis has almost 3,000 employees in Cambridge. Sanofi has 1,600. Biogen has 2,600 and Pfizer has 1,000.

MIT and Harvard were about 10-15 years ahead of Penn in establishing these relationships. In fact, I recall when Novartis built their first building in Cambridge...it may have been only 8 years ago.

Something is definitely happening. And it could be huge. I don't think this contiguous space is being lined up for a bunch of small scale start ups (although that's needed as well). I think these massive blocks are being assembled/proposed/pitched with particular companies in mind.

Here's to hoping.

Now for Google. Time for them to open an office in town as well. Maybe Comcast can help with that.
It also helps that there has been a settlement in the Dr. June/Penn case in regards to "killing cancer" which has a direct link to Novartis. With that cutting edge research and productive results, one can only hope for continued progress.
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Old Posted Sep 17, 2015, 8:13 PM
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Can't wait for this whole thing to be built out, even though it's a long way off. Hope the design remains the same. I can only think that this will accelerate the increase in land values in Powelton and Mantua, making the capping of the railyards more feasible in the long term future. Hopefully this, and the various other tracts of land in UCity, will absorb office and residential growth over the next 30 years, and then we'll FINALLY be ready for the railyards.
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Old Posted Sep 30, 2015, 12:48 AM
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Massive $1B uCity Square Project Could Benefit Community

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For $1 billion, University City Science Center will double in size with plans to revamp the 14-acre former University City High School property as well as interact with the surrounding communities. Science Center President and CEO Steve Tang told Technical.ly that he hopes to not only redevelop the property, but engage with the surrounding communities in order to buck the trend of gentrification. "What's happened in the past, when Penn and Drexel were beginning to grow, was that there was a lot of displacement and tension between the neighborhoods and the institutions. We're trying to create an environment where there's really a community between the two," said Tang. Some of the ways that Tang will contribute to the community is by building a K-8 school nearby. The Science Center will invest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs at the planned school. Science Center is currently working with the developer Wexford Science + Technology to construct that project. The new development, called uCity Square, will feature office buildings, public spaces, and businesses that will extend North of Market Street up to Powelton Street. The first of two phases is expected to finish in two years.
http://philly.curbed.com/archives/20...ity-square.php
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Old Posted Oct 1, 2015, 7:21 PM
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Nashville developer selected to build first UCity Square apartment building

Quote:
Southern Land Co. has been selected to develop the first residential building planned for the University City Science Center campus-expansion project known as uCity Square, a company official said.

The Nashville-based developer will soon begin design work on the roughly 300-unit, five- or six-story apartment building at 3700 Lancaster Ave., said Dustin Downey, director of multifamily development.

Downey spoke Wednesday at the unveiling of the company's 3601 Market apartment project, the first residential building on the campus's existing footprint. Southern Land is also planning a residential tower at 1911 Walnut St. beside Rittenhouse Square.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...QdLjDHKPPUD.99
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Old Posted Oct 15, 2015, 2:58 AM
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A lot of machinery on site



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  #11  
Old Posted Nov 5, 2015, 1:01 AM
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Not sure if they're actually getting ready to build anything or if they're just prepping the site, but work in progress signs are up.





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Old Posted Nov 5, 2015, 1:50 AM
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If the "Work in Progress" sign states an anticipated complete date as Fall 2015, I'm pretty sure it's not construction of anything.
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Old Posted Nov 5, 2015, 1:56 AM
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Originally Posted by pfrieden View Post
If the "Work in Progress" sign states an anticipated complete date as Fall 2015, I'm pretty sure it's not construction of anything.
Good call. Didn't even think of that. It's probably just for the completion of site prep.
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Old Posted Nov 5, 2015, 3:18 AM
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Hey Summersm, I'm a long-time lurker. I was wondering if you could link the other u-city square threads to this main thread, so it would be easier to get a full picture of the project.
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  #15  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2015, 10:37 PM
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12/2/2015



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Old Posted Dec 3, 2015, 1:44 PM
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Wow. I havent been past here in over 2 years. Things are getting serious on this project, this is going to be crazy.
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Old Posted Dec 3, 2015, 2:52 PM
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I don't see anything in the renders that appears close to 27 stories. What am I missing?
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Old Posted Dec 3, 2015, 3:13 PM
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This project alone makes me want to invest in Mantua

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I don't see anything in the renders that appears close to 27 stories. What am I missing?
Do you not see that left most tower in the second picture down. thats approximately ~25 stories
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Old Posted Dec 3, 2015, 3:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Arch+Eng View Post
This project alone makes me want to invest in Mantua



Do you not see that left most tower in the second picture down. thats approximately ~25 stories
I guess I should have done a floor count. I was just looking for something with height. It's approximately the same height as the 15(?) story building next to it, which must be LEED.
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Old Posted Dec 3, 2015, 4:16 PM
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Originally Posted by boxbot View Post
I guess I should have done a floor count. I was just looking for something with height. It's approximately the same height as the 15(?) story building next to it, which must be LEED.
The floor counts are accurate. Take a look at the second image. The taller building on the left is a 27 floor apartment building. The building on the right, is a 15 floor office building. Office buildings tend to have higher floor to ceiling ratios than residential buildings.

For instance, 3737 Market has 17' ceilings. Assuming this office building would be the same (same developers, architects), that means this building would be 255 feet tall.

Residential buildings on the other hand, usually have 10 foot ceilings, which means we're likely looking around 270 feet for the residential building.
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