Drexel Square and Bulletin Building.

Schuylkill Yards, the building complex planned near 30th Street Station, has its first project completed. On Monday, developer Brandywine Realty Trust and Drexel University officially opened Drexel Square park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Mayor Jim Kenney, Drexel University President, John Fry, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and others.

The new 1.3-acre community park is located directly across from 30th Street Station at the corner of 30th and Market Streets – a former parking lot transformed into a green, community gathering space. The park is the first of several public green spaces that will eventually make up 6.5 acres of the 14-acre Schuylkill Yards neighborhood. These green spaces will eventually connect 6.9 million square feet of office and residential space.

          Schuylkill Yards rendering.

The $3.5 billion Schuylkill Yards project, which includes eight high rises connected by green public spaces and retail, was unveiled in 2016. The project is expected to generate 10,000 construction jobs over the 20 years it would take to complete it.

On Monday, Brandywine also shared details of its next project, the Bulletin Building. Drexel Square park sits directly in front of the building, which Brandywine will begin construction on this month in partnership with Philadelphia-based architecture firm, Kiernan Timberlake. The renovated building will feature over 200,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of lab space, and is fully leased to the life science company, Spark Therapeutics.

Following the opening of the transformed Bulletin Building in early 2020, two ground-up developments are planned at 3001 and 3025 JFK Boulevard featuring office, retail and residential components, which will complete phase one of this multi-phase project. More information can be found on the Schuylkill Yards website.