Quote:
Originally Posted by Londonee
I guess we disagree on what constitutes an awesome urban campus? Is your broader point that a dorm with ground-floor retail somehow debases the idea of what higher education stands for? Are parents saying to themselves, "Ya know what, Penn had groundfloor retail at their dorms, but Brown did not. Let's definitely send our kid to Brown." "But dad, Wharton is the best business school in the world and I want to go into finance, you know that." "Sorry, son, groundfloor retail."
|
The northern side of Walnut between 39th and 40th is almost all retail and much of it controlled by Penn. I certainly don't understand why Penn wouldn't/couldn't/won't accept a design that includes retail on the ground floor, but it can't be because they don't embrace retail. Penn rarely turns down a opportunity to make a buck.
In the main campus area, from Walnut to Spruce, from 32th out to 40th, I can't think of many or any retail stores, other then what's in Houston Hall. Maybe they have a policy against that practice, or some agreement with the City back from the days when the neighborhood was sold out for the super block development. But Penn only holds to agreements as long as the agreement benefits them, as soon as it doesn't, the agreement is toast.