PLAN PHILLY • Takeaways from the State of University City, 2016

The University City District wants you to know that Philadelphia is about to have two central business districts—if it doesn’t already.

This year “State of University City” report is a data-filled, graphics-heavy ode to the ever-growing tech, medical, and education cluster on the western banks of the Schuylkill.

Much of the report is focused on the impressive job numbers, which have grown to almost 77,000 from 75,000 last year. Another focus point is the five gargantuan real estate projects expected to transform University City, including ambitious proposals like uCity Square and the Schuylkill Yards, which are expected to expand the availability of new lab, office, and residential space by millions of square feet in the coming years.

While the vision of another skyline rising from banks of the Schuylkill certainly makes for a fun thought experiment, here are a few more immediate takeaways on the state of University City District as we know it right now:

WHAT IS THE JOB MIX IN UNIVERISTY CITY AND WHERE DO WORKERS COMMUTE FROM?

OFFICE OCCUPANCY RANKS WELL REGIONALLY

WHERE DO ALL THE STUDENTS GO?

University City contains four colleges and universities, which have 44,000 undergraduate and graduate students combined.  25,000 of those students reside within University City District, a 17 percent increase since 2000.

There are two stories buried in those number. First, the grad student population surged dramatically since 2000. More of the people getting advanced degrees at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel are deciding to actually live in an adjoining residential areas. In many of the surrounding neighborhoods, which include collections of Victorian houses, old twins and townhouses have been carved into apartment to accommodate this boom—despite pushback from some neighborhood groups.  

But grad students, generally speaking, are easier for other people to live among than undergraduates. The University City District report shows that roughly half of Penn’s undergraduates live on campus, while only 3,471 of Drexel’s 16,464 undergraduates do. Penn is the only school in the area with anything close to parity among on and off campus housing of its undergraduate population.

A BUNCH OF NEW RESTAURANTS

The University City District also reports an explosion in dining options, up 24 percent since 2009. Food uses make up 44 percent of the retail offerings in the district, outstripping the next three uses combined (apparel, books and music, and pharmacy).

It’s quantity, not quality, of offerings measured by UCD in terms of growth. University City might not yet be able to rival South Philadelphia or Center City as a hub of the city’s food culture.

The report names few restaurants, trumpeting just the presence of “renowned chef Jose Andres” and the new locations of Spread Bagelry and honeygrow.

There are, by the district’s count, 268 restaurants and bars in the 2.4 square miles of University City District. This is not surprising in a student and professional mecca. But the number of bars and nightclubs in the area is actually on the decline, with only 17 of these youth-magnet businesses in the district’s boundaries. The only type of restaurant use that is less prevalent by UCD’s count is ice cream shops, of which there are six.​