Penn Set to Open Six New University Buildings in 2016/2017

Part of the Pennovation Center is expected to open in 2016. Rendering via Penn/HWKN

These days, it can’t be said that the University of Pennsylvania rests on its collective laurels when it comes to real estate development. The market is too hot, competition is too fierce and there are just too many new frontiers to explore. The Daily Pennsylvanian reminds us that there are plenty of new construction projects scheduled to wrap up by the time the 2016-2017 school year comes to a close.

In fact, as the DP‘s Luis Ferre Sadurni reports, there are at least six university-related developments in the pipeline for that time period, as part of the university’s larger 35-year plan called Penn Connects:

The centerpiece of the University’s ongoing construction is the New College House — located on Chestnut Street between 33rd and 34th streets — which is expected to be completed by August 2016. The $127 million project will house 350 students and include a dining facility, common spaces and a courtyard, according to Penn’s Facilities and Real Estate Services.

We imagine the overall experience will be decidedly different than at Penn’s Hill College House. Anyway, other projects include:

• The 49-story FMC Tower (expected completion is June 2016), will house four floors of University administrative offices
• Pennovation Center (phase 1: summer 2016), Penn’s 23-acre hub for innovation, research and entrepreneurship
• Module 7 Chiller Plant expansion (summer 2016), $81.6 million project that will help supply air conditioning to campus buildings
• Neural and Behavioral Sciences Building (spring 2016),  $66.6 million expansion of the Lynch Laboratories
• The Perry World House (April 2016), the $18.7 million building “will house many of Penn’s global initiatives and will have an auditorium, classrooms and offices,” according to Sadurni.

Also, don’t forget that a collaboration called PennFIRST, which includes the likes of the Sir Norman Foster, is designing the $1.5 billion New Patient Pavilion at the site of the Penn Tower complex. The project includes 700 new beds, 50 new procedure and operating room and an expanded Emergency Department. According to the Penn Connects site, it will be completed in 2020.

• Six new buildings to be complete around campus by 2016-17 [Daily Pennsylvanian]