The University City District’s recently released “The State of University City” report confirmed the worst-kept secret this side of the Schuylkill: The Meds-and-Eds juggernaut that fuels this part of the city is gaining speed.

The report, released every fall, tracks everything from rents, to occupancy rates in office buildings to the number of bike commuters in the University City District defined as the Schuylkill River to 50th Street, south to Woodland Avenue and north to Market Street and, in the Powelton neighborhoods, north again to Spring Garden Street.

According to this year’s report, a whopping 77 percent of the jobs in the area is in education and health care with “entertainment, hospitality and retail” in second with 8 percent. The University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine alone now account for more than 40,000 of those jobs.

The report shows that all of those good-paying jobs are attracting a lot of young, well-educated people. About 40 percent of the area’s population is between 20 years of age and 29. The number of children (5-14) in the area has dropped steadily since 2000.

Rents have also increased in most neighborhoods. The steepest increases have been in the Powelton Village neighborhood, where the median rent is just over $1,500 per month. The highest rents are in the “Central University City” area (roughly east of 38th Street and south of Market Street), where the median rent is just over $2,500 per month.

Median home prices grew from about $100,000 in 2000 to $300,000 in 2006, but have remained at that level since then, according to the report. But, of course, real estate prices vary widely by neighborhood. Prices in Spruce Hill, which includes the Penn Alexander School catchment, are just over $375,000. That’s a slight decrease compared to 2009 prices. The lowest median prices are in West Powelton at about $200,000.

Many residents’ fear of a loss of economic and racial diversity has followed the economic gains in the area. Technical.ly Philly talked to Seth Budick, senior manager of policy and research for UCD, ahead of the report’s release. “Prices are going up. The social consequences of that I don’t think we’re going to comment on too much,” Budick said. “For the most part, though, if you look at that rent figure … you’ll see a huge diversification.”

Here are some other tidbits:

• The population has steadily grown since 1990 and now stands at about 51,000.

• Well over 50 percent of people have at least a bachelor’s degree, while in the city as a whole that number is closer to 24 percent.

• University City District residents are three times as likely to commute on foot, bike or transportation than by car. Only 23 percent of residents reported commuting by car, compared to 59 percent of Philadelphians in general and 86 percent of all Americans. That number has remained steady since 2000.

• Occupancy rates for office buildings in the district are among the highest in the region at about 97 percent, according to the report. Developers, of course, have noticed and new office buildings are under construction or in the works.

– Mike Lyons

Renovations are continuing and the first three tenants are already lined up for the Frank Furness-designed church at 47th and Kingsessing that was saved from the wrecking ball last year.

Property owner Guy Laren confirmed by e-mail this week that two preschools, Little Learners and Children’s Community School, are still among the likely tenants for the commercial space at the former St. Peter’s Church of Christ complex, which includes a three-story parish house (formerly a school) and a main sanctuary. The church was saved from demolition in late 2014.

“There are so many moving parts to an old building like this that giving you absolute move-in dates would be difficult, but both pre-schools would move in at the earliest sometime early next year,” said Laren, whose West Philly property management company, Constellar Corporation, purchased the property in December 2014.

The Soapbox Community Print Shop recently announced it would be moving into a 4,500-square-foot space in the complex and has started a fundraising campaign to help offset the costs of renovations.

Guy said that he’s also working with an artist group to have some collaborative space in the complex as well.

“After all these are comfortably moved in we will consider other possibilities for the remaining space,” Laren said. Laren’s initial plans for the remaining space in the sanctuary included residential apartments or some other commercial use. We’ll keep you posted when we have more updates.

Matt Pestronk of Post Brothers speaking at the annual Spruce Hill Community Association meeting. (Photo West Philly Local)

Matt Pestronk did something at last night’s annual Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) member meeting that property developers rarely do anymore in the neighborhood. He voluntarily showed up and answered questions from residents about the reasons his company, Post Brothers, plans to spend some $250 million on apartment buildings, including the newly purchased Garden Court Plaza building at 47th and Pine.

Pestronk, who owns the company with his brother Michael, took questions ranging from whether they would allow pets in their buildings (an emphatic “yes” on that one) to whether Post Brothers would convert any rental units into condos and put them up for sale (probably not).

The company has acquired several buildings in recent years including: 4311 Spruce Street; The Netherlands at 4300 Chestnut; Chester Plaza at Farragut and Chester; Chester Hall at 4205 Chester; Hamilton Court at 3800 Chestnut; and Garden Court Plaza. Altogether, they have accrued about 550 units.  Continue Reading

Garden Court Plaza.

Development is on the agenda of the upcoming annual meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA), which will include a presentation by the new owners of the Garden Court Plaza.

Matthew A. Pestronk, president of Post Brothers, which recently bought the 13-story Garden Court Plaza at 4701 Pine St. (pictured) and plans to invest more than $250 million in housing development in the area, will speak at the meeting, slated for Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Griffith Hall on the USciences campus.

Pestronk will open the meeting at 6:30 p.m. His topic is “Investing in Philadelphia’s Neighborhoods, 2015 – The Challenges and Opportunities.”

After Pestronk’s talk, there will be reports on SHCA activities in the last year and election of officers.

“Come out to mingle, vote and learn about and discuss development in the neighborhood,” said Monica Calkins, SHCA president.

Eric Santoro is running for president and heads up an unopposed slate that includes Calkins for executive vice president.

The entrance to Griffith Hall is on 43rd St. between Regent Sq. and Woodland Ave.

An artist’s rendering of what the Provident building will look like after its conversion into the Public Safety Services Campus. Two small buildings near the southwest corner of the complex will be demolished.

We are starting to get an idea of what the hulking, long-vacant Provident Mutual Life Insurance Building at North 46th and Market Streets will look like a few years from now. The building is being converted into a public services complex that will house the headquarters for the Philadelphia Police Department and the Department of Public Health, including the city’s coroner’s office and morgue.

Designers unveiled some drawings this week of a spiffed up Provident Building, complete with lots of greenery and a couple of out buildings removed. PlanPhilly reports that on November 17 artists who responded to a competitive call for a public installation that will be the centerpiece of a public plaza at 46th and Market are scheduled to present their ideas to designers. The city will draw $675,000 from its Percent for Art program to pay for the installation.

Two buildings on the west side of the site, a powerhouse (with a large smokestack near the El tracks and an auditorium) will be demolished. Ballinger Architects is designing the complex.

The complex is scheduled to be completed by 2018.

Here are some detailed site plans and photographs.

Real estate developer Post Brothers announced recently that it bought the Garden Court Plaza (4701 Pine St.) and is planning upgrades and renovations that has current residents wondering if they will be priced out of their apartments.

Built in the 1920s, the 13-story apartment building, which includes 146 units, was purchased for an undisclosed price as part of Post Brothers $250 million University City acquisition strategy, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal and other news outlets.

A founder of Post Brothers told the Philadelphia Business Journal that there is a shortage of housing geared toward “young professionals” in the area, which he compared to Cambridge, Mass., and that the firm’s strategy is to “upgrade and reposition” properties.

Post Brothers will do substantial renovations to Garden Court Plaza’s interior and exterior and add upscale amenities, according to a press release.

Some current residents who have contacted West Philly Local and asked not be named say they are bracing for big changes, including a substantial rent increase. They said that the new management company has begun asking for tax and pet vaccination information from residents.