Morning Headlines: Plans Still Unclear for Temple University’s Burk Mansion

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Burk Mansion | Google Street View, Sept. 2014

Burk Mansion | Google Street View, Sept. 2014

Could Temple University replace one of the last mansions on North Broad Street with a full-service hotel called The Nest? Hidden City’s Bradley Maule reports that, while plans for the Victorian Italian Renaissance home at Broad and Jefferson at still unclear, the university has no intention of demolishing the building. In fact, it’s quite the opposite:

[Temple University architect Margaret] Carney also indicates that while the mansion is empty, it’s not uncared for. “We’ve invested over a million dollars just to stabilize the roof,” Carney says. “We’ve worked closely with the Historical Commission,” she says, referencing new lights, heating, and ventilation that have also been installed, along with improved landscaping along Broad Street and historically sensitive lanterns on their way.

That’s good news, considering the mansion dating back to 1909 wasn’t listed in Temple’s sweeping master plan, which includes, among other things, an innovative library designed by Snøhetta. Also, as Maule notes, Temple is kind of in the middle of a demolition-driven renaissance, with no less than four university-owned buildings slated to be razed.

Carney said Temple “did not commission” the designs for The Nest and is still searching for the best use for the mansion.

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Renderings of Gardner's Basin Redevelopment Plan

Renderings of Gardner’s Basin Redevelopment Plan

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