Penn Connects
January 15, 2008, Volume 54, No. 17	Print Issue

Out With the Old – In With the New: Creating a Gateway

At the groundbreaking celebration for Cira Centre South in November Penn President Amy Gutmann and Brandywine Realty Trust CEO Jerry Sweeney each took turns at the controls of the grappling hook-equipped excavator (left). The ceremonial demolition of the US Post Office Truck Terminal Annex between Chestnut and Walnut streets on 30th Street signified the beginning of the development on the land that Penn recently bought from the US Post Office (Almanac September 11, 2007).

The new complex, being developed by Brandywine Realty Trust, on land leased by Penn, will be completed at the end of 2010. It will be mixed use development consisting of offices, hotel, residential, parking and retail space. Portions of this development will be concurrent with the renovation of the historic Post Office Building. Both projects represent approximately $800 million in development and 2.8 million sq. ft. and will “create a gateway to complete Penn’s grid, uniting Center City and University City,” Dr. Gutmann said. She called the Cira Center South tower (at right) the lynchpin of Penn’s shared vision for a stronger University and city.

	Architectural rendering of Cira Centre South.

This shows the entire Cira Centre complex, from Arch Street (north of 30th Street Station) south to Walnut Street, and east to the Schuylkill River and westward toward Penn’s campus.