The New View32 Will Call Powelton Village Home
Another new apartment tower has started construction in University City. This tower is being built in Powelton Village, at 32nd & Race Streets, and will include a huge, two-story day care center for Drexel University employees and neighborhood families. It is to be called View32, because of the incredible view of the Center City and University City skylines that will be visible from its large picture windows.
The new tower will be built by a partnership between Drexel University and Radnor Property Group and is intended for non-student tenants. It will have 164 units and the day care on the first two floors, with outdoor play areas for the children. Drexel University owns the land and is leasing it to Radnor Property Group. The tower will be 16 stories, and almost 200 feet tall, and is being designed by Erdy McHenry Architects.
The tower will be built over a base of parking, with a raised plaza just above 32nd Street, which will also have a great view of the Center City skyline. The childcare center will be 14,000 square feet on the first two floors. The site is currently zoned CMX3, which allows for such large mixed-use towers. There will, also, be a dozen owner occupied townhouses on Summer Street, at the request of the Powelton Village residents, which should begin construction and sales after the tower is completed. That site is zoned RSA5.
The façade of the tower will have large glass panels on the side facing Center City in order to maximize the view of the city
skyline. The rest of the façade will have paneling. The designers have included many sustainable features, including a bio-retention pond and the large play space for the children, in order to mitigate storm water runoff. A large community garden, to the west and extending to 33rd Street, will be retained.
The developers expect construction to last about 18 months, meaning that the building could be done by late next year. It will join other buildings in University City intended for non-student tenants that were recently built, such as 3601 Market Street and 3737 Chestnut Street.
By, Gabriel Gottlieb
