Rendering image of the new USciences Student Residence Hall currently under construction at 46th and Woodland.

University of the Sciences and city officials will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony today for the new student residence hall at 46th and Woodland, on the site of the demolished Alexander Wilson elementary school.

USciences purchased the school building in 2014, a year after the School District of Philadelphia closed it down and decided to sell it. The university revealed plans for its new student residence hall in that location in the spring of 2016. The new dorm will house over 400 students and will also include ground-floor retail and an open courtyard along Woodland Ave (see rendering above). It will replace housing the university currently owns.

The new Student Residence Hall and Mixed-Use Facility is set to open in the winter of 2018-19. For more information and images, go here.

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Residents are invited Thursday, Sept. 7th to the Spruce Hill Community Association Office at 257 S. 45th St to hear about new development projects in the area. Three items will be on the agenda, including a proposed “by-right” construction of a 6-story residential building at 4125 Chestnut St. “By right” means that the property’s zoning allows the construction of the building without any additional permission.

The new building would replace the “Wash N Lube” car wash on the 4100 block of Chestnut. The initial plans for this location were revealed earlier this year and included construction of a 17-story residential tower with commercial space and an underground parking lot, but were later modified.  Continue Reading

This summer’s first Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll was held on June 15. (Photo by Ben Tran)

As the summer is coming to an end, this is a great opportunity to spend an evening outside enjoying food, drinks, treats and many other offers from local businesses, especially when every item costs $1. Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll returns Thursday, Sept. 7 for the second (and last) time this summer. It will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. between 43rd and 52nd streets.

Over 30 businesses will participate in this Dollar Stroll (see the map below), and there will also be live entertainment: Hip Hop Fundamentals will perform at 50th and Baltimore, and Red Hot Ticket, a four-piece band featuring members of the West Philadelphia Orchestra, will perform 90s hip hop favorites as they make their way
up and down Baltimore Avenue. Also, bring your kids to see jugglers in front of Milk and Honey (Baltimore and 45th), and for some face-painting and balloon art at Cedar Park.  Continue Reading

Photo by Chris Richman, University City District.

If you’re wondering what this new structure at The Porch near 30th Street Station that looks like a shipping container is, here’s the scoop: It’s a new destination for post-work drinks called The Pub at The Porch. This thing just opened and will be serving beer, wine, and rotating bar fare Wednesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. while the weather is warm. The pub is operated by the well-known Bridgewater’s Pub, a drinking and dining destination inside 30th Street Station.

The Pub is located near the center of The Porch, where food trucks set up for weekday lunch service. Local firm SHIFTSPACE designed and manufactured the free-standing non-permanent 10×10 cube that houses The Pub. It has a vibrant turquoise color coupled with carved-out architectural features.  Continue Reading

This is a great example of neighbors helping neighbors. Senior residents of the Renaissance Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center located at 4712 Chester Avenue recently raised money to help one of the largest emergency family shelters in the area, Families Forward Philadelphia, get school supplies for their clients.

Renaissance residents and staff created a donation box crafted as a box of “Renaissance” Crayons. Staff, visitors, and family members dropped off items in the lobby, and a traveling store was made available for all residents interested in using bingo winnings to make donations.  Continue Reading

Bernie’s Restaurant and Bar is opening this fall at 3432 Sansom St.

Good news for this University City storefront that has remained vacant since Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House closed in July 2016. Come this fall, Bernie’s Restaurant and Bar, a casual dining restaurant, will open its doors at 3432 Sansom Street. Penn’s Division of Facilities & Real Estate Services, which has signed the lease for the Sansom Street space with the restaurant owners, announced the upcoming opening earlier this week.

This will be the third Pennsylvania location for the restaurant known as a “full-service independent American-style restaurant and bar serving quality food and drinks in a cozy neighborhood setting,” according to the announcement. Bernie’s currently operates two locations in southeastern PA: Glenside and Hatboro, and its owner, Eric Kretschman, is both a Drexel and Penn alum.  Continue Reading