{"id":192971,"date":"2025-09-02T02:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T02:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/192971\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T02:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T02:16:10","slug":"new-parking-garage-set-for-development-blocks-from-penns-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/192971\/","title":{"rendered":"New parking garage set for development blocks from Penn\u2019s campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"09-01-2025-parking-garage-weining-ding\"\/
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

5.0 University Place, a new parking garage to be developed near Penn\u2019s campus, is located at 17 N. 41st St.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Weining Ding<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A new 495-spot parking garage is set to be developed blocks away from Penn\u2019s campus.\n<\/p>\n

Officially named 5.0 University Place, the garage will be located at 17 N. 41st St. and replace a surface parking lot. The project\u2019s purpose is to provide dedicated parking for the city\u2019s new police forensic laboratory, which is moving into the neighboring 3.0 University Place.\n\t\t<\/p>\n

According to project plans, 29 spaces on the garage\u2019s ground floor will be reserved for the lab with a separate secured entrance. Another 100 spots will be reserved for city employees, and the remainder of the garage will serve as paid public parking for nearby office and life sciences buildings.\n<\/p>\n

The garage, which is is being developed<\/a> by University Place Associates in partnership with Silverstein Properties and Cantor Fitzgerald, will also include landscaped pedestrian areas, a dog park, green space, and a mural wall.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The project advanced after the Philadelphia City Council approved a zoning overlay in June, which was introduced by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier. The proposal is scheduled for Civic Design Review on Sept. 2, but developers expect limited regulatory hurdles.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

City and Regional Planning assistant professor Xiaoxia Dong at Penn\u2019s Weitzman School of Design voiced concerns about the project from an urban planning perspective.\n\t<\/p>\n

Dong noted that the several issues, such as the \u201cimpact on the local community,\u201d \u201cair pollution in the surrounding area,\u201d and \u201cvisual impact on the existing neighborhood\u201d should be considered before building new infrastructure.\n<\/p>\n

Dong added that leaders of large projects like 5.0 University Place and 3.0 University Place should consider using existing parking \u201cmore effectively.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should ask ourselves during the planning stage \u2026 whether there is sufficient parking in University City already to accommodate the growth of new development,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Members of 5th Square, a Philadelphia-based urbanist political action committee, spoke to The Daily Pennsylvanian about their opposition to the project. In an interview with the DP, Brennan Maragh \u2014 co-chair of 5th Square\u2019s Housing Committee \u2014 said that the parking garages, in general, \u201care not sustainable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey bring a lot of cars into a neighborhood, they don\u2019t generate positive consequences like people riding public transit, \u2026 and they further encourage things like car use and air pollution,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Maragh went on to explain that the necessity for a parking garage is diminished by the fact that West Philadelphia is \u201cone of the more transit-rich areas of the city.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the trolley network, there\u2019s plenty of busses, things like that,\u201d Maragh said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s also near a college campus, where obviously a lot of folks like yourself don\u2019t own cars and take transit around every day.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

5th Square\u2019s Housing Committee co-chair Natasha Tabachnikoff highlighted that that there \u201creally is still a lot of parking vacancy in University City already.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Tabachinikoff cited a 2023 city study<\/a>, which found that garages in West Powelton \u2014 where the project site is located \u2014 were only 58.3% occupied.\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tSign up for our newsletter<\/p>\n

Get our newsletter, DP Daybreak, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just don\u2019t think this is necessary,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to see some more emphasis on transit and pedestrian and bike connections.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Tabachnikoff voiced that if new construction were unavoidable, it should bring activity to the community.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d prefer to see a genuinely mixed-use project that provides some parking but also other amenities,\u201d she said. \u201cPersonally, I live about a 15-minute walk from the site, so I would prefer not just be walking by a parking structure that doesn\u2019t bring anything to the streetscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.<\/p>\n

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