McGonigle Pearson Hall Update

As part of  Temple University's expansion plans, a renovation of McGonigle Pearson Hall was needed to house Division 1 Basketball practice facilities, intramural and recreational sports facilities, exercise/yoga rooms, contemporary weight/workout rooms, classrooms, retail and street level, offices and other programatic areas.  The activities now located in the Student Pavilion will be relocated to the new complex.  The renovation and additional 140,000 SF to the existing 225,000 SF will cost the university over $48 million.  As of now, foundation construction has been completed and steel is being erected.

Temple Nest Apartments

To celebrate the growing rate of residential development in and around Philadelphia, we at Rentcampus have decided to track down recently completed projects and those under construction around Temple University.  We believe that awareness and exposure are key to fostering excitement and enthusiasm in a growing development market. Last week we featured Beech International Apartments, this week and every following week we will feature 2-3 new projects.

Next up is Temple Nest Apartments located at 1509-1511 N 15th Street.  The project features new construction 2&3 Bedroom Luxury Apartments, with a building area of over 9,000 sqft.  The original lot size at purchase was 1400 sqft each.  The owners, Temple Nest III LP have several properties in the Temple neighborhood and are dedicated to provided quality housing in North Philadelphia. Check it out at templenestapts.com

Beech International Continues To Flex Its Muscle At Temple University

Beech International Apartments, located on the corner of 16th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue has been making significant progress as it nears its completion date set for Fall 2011. Agoose Lovera Architects designed the building to house Temple's growing international student population, helping to fill in the blight along Cecil B. Moore Avenue. It will feature 100 residential units with retail on the ground floor. The developers are Beech Interplex Companies which was founded by the William Penn Foundation and works in public and private partnership to redevelop North Philadelphia. Beech Interplex previously developed Oxford Village, a successful student housing complex along North 15th Street.

Housing Stirs Development!

Temple students reside in neighborhoods all throughout Philadelphia. Some are off campus by choice and others were simply chased out after sophomore year.  Fortunately, students who desire the off campus experience but don't want to venture too far have plenty of options.  A spot at the Edge or Oxford Village can run you about $600 not including additional living expenses and you may have to share a room.  This is manageable for some but for many this is still too steep.  For these young frugal students there are plenty of other options that come with a small price, "walking an extra few blocks to class".  There are possible rents $100-$200 cheaper!  This is definitely worth the trip.

Just blocks away on North 15th St and the 1400 block of Master St, rents for rooms range anywhere from $450-$600 furnished and unfurnished.  If students are willing to go a little further, rooms in Northern Liberties can go as low as $400 a month.  With University goals and plans for expansion, North Philadelphia is sure to benefit from continuous development and gentrification.  temple has 12,000 students residing on campus and wants to add over the next several years enough beds to accommodate between 16,000 and 20,000 undergraduate students.  This is awesome for the neighborhood, developers and landlords.  Every year thousands of students will be looking for new off campus housing, and the demand for quality housing is going to continue to grow.  Read more on Temple Expansion at the PhillyShark Blog.

'Tis the season! Finals mark the end of the Semester, but beginning of the Fall '11 housing season

Once upon a time, Temple University was a commuter school. But construction sites and closed-off roads is the new scenery for the north philadelphia neighborhood surrounding the campus, proving that things really have changed. Not only is the University expanding, with the construction of a new gym and a new library underway in Fall 2011, but the off campus scene is growing with it as well.

Many older students remember well that off campus living meant a strong blend of student and local neighborhood population in the same area. The quality of housing had low standards for what can be considered livable. And communication with landlords was a nightmare.

But now the establishment of Rentcampus the past year has shown that the housing situation has changed quite drastically. Students are finally being delivered the quality housing other universities with campuses rather than commuter styles have been receiving for years.

An example of changing standards is the recent sale of the properties on 16th street, in between Berks and Montgomery streets. With mismanaged heating systems and decaying floors, the units have been falling apart for years. And with rentals rates as low as $350 per month, the price reflected the quality. So students who have been living in that strip of properties for years will see first hand all the changes taking place on a larger full-campus scale. The 8-bedroom units will be completely renovated, but at a cost to the tune of $625 a month per room.

And 16th street is just the start of houses on the west part of campus that is becoming less a taboo of living and much more the normal standard for those attending the university. Some people prefer living on Bouvier and 18th to living on the other broad.

What is your preference of places to live off campus? Respond back with where you like to live on Temple's campus!