You’ve seen the construction going on for a year now. You’ve lamented having to cross the street to avoid the constant sidewalk closings, but you never really knew what exciting project was soon to be erected on 33rd Street. Well, after a thorough researching process, we have uncovered the truth about the property and its purpose.
In early May 2015, the hotel development company, Hospitality 3, broke ground on its newest project – The Study at University City. The corners of 33rd and Chestnut streets are no strangers to construction projects, but The Study, opening later this year, is a bit of a different concept from the academic buildings around campus that we have become so used to.
Hospitality 3, which is based in Manhattan and New Haven, builds its projects in areas that are both established and up-and-coming destinations. They constructed their first campus-oriented hotel in 2008 on Yale University’s campus and, up until now, that was their only property of its kind.
Following the success of the Yale property, Hospitality 3 and Philadelphia-based architecture firm DIGSAU dedicated their efforts to constructing The Study at University City. The construction not only makes sense to the companies involved, but also to Drexel University’s president, John Fry.
Fry was quoted saying that one of these academically oriented hotels is the next step in the evolution of University City and Hospitality 3 seems to agree. They are pursuing the Drexel campus location because of its proximity to 30th Street Station and the urban environment that surrounds it.
The Study at University City will be a 145,000-square-foot property and will have 212 rooms. In addition, the hotel will have about 7,000 square feet of space for banquets, meetings, speeches, and more. Sounds like a pretty typical hotel, right? Don’t forget about the 105-seat restaurant and bar. Oh, and the state-of-the-art fitness center.
Hospitality 3 uses their slogan to tell us their goal for the hotels they construct: read, rest, reflect. Here in University City, we can only hope that The Study will allow us to do just that.