BENEATH THE


SURFACE: Life, Death, & Gold in Ancient Panama


EXHIBITION OPENING EVENT FEBRUARY 7


33rd & Spruce | www.penn.museum


Penn’s latest program: the Young Quaker Community Athletics Initiative fi lls important gap for West Philly students


By Nicole Contosta Staff Reporter


T


o Penn President Amy Gut- mann, “Serving our commu- nity and our students in this new way goes right to the heart of what it means to be Penn.” Gutmann’s statement refers


to the Young Quaker Commu- nity Athletics Initiative (YQCA), which began as a pilot in 2012. That’s when the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Com- munity Partnerships and the Di- vision of Recreation and Intercol- legiate Athletics came together for


a boys’ lacrosse game at Comegys Community School. Evidence of the program’s suc- cess was on full display Thursday, January 30th


. Penn leaders, coach-


es and student athletes joined West Philly students in the Dun- ning Center Board Room, adjacent to the Franklin Field to venerate the program.


Genuine enthusiasm about the


program reverberated from every corner of Dunning.


Since the pilot’s inception, the


YQCA has expanded to include “girls’ lacrosse at Comegys as well as co-ed track at the Huey


Penn President Amy Gutmann shares her enthusiasm for Penn Quakers. Photo: Peter Tobia


Community School and the Lea Community School,” explained Cory Bowman, Associate Direc-


Review


SERVING THE WEST PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY CITY


February 4, 2015 www.ucreview.com


Coming soon to University City: 3737 Chestnut Street A


By Nicole Contosta Staff Reporter


ll professions have their career highs. And this reporter’s tour of 3737


Chestnut Street proved one of them. Still under construction, this reporter donned a hard hat to ex- plore the property with Develop- ment Manager Kim McFadden of the Radnor Property Group. Everywhere we turned, the site hummed with activity. The noise generated from workmen’s power tools combined with McFadden’s gusto for the project was palpable. After speaking with McFadden and getting a fi rst hand look at the project, it was hard not to share that excitement


Slated for completion at the beginning of August in 2015, the 25-story, 276-unit building will be the fi rst of its kind. “There isn’t any market rate


housing dedicated toward gradu- ate students or young profes- sionals in the area,” McFadden explained of the building’s target demographic. Then there’s the story of the partnership between the Radnor Property Group and the Philadel- phia Episcopal Cathedral located adjacent to 3737 Chestnut Street on 38th


Street. According to David Yeager,


President of the Radnor Property, “We only do public/private part- nerships with non-profi ts and universities. And that’s primarily because most of us come from an economic development back- ground.


When the Cathedral ap-


proached us with their situation,” Yeager continued, explaining that it wanted to “advance its mission work, it only had one asset and that was its real estate,” Yeager said of the land where 3737 is be- ing constructed. “The cathedral


brings its property and we bring the expertise, the equity and the debt […] it’s a very complex proj- ect.” From the Episcopal Cathedral’s perspective, the partnership with the Radnor Property Group pro- vides it with a three-story offi ce building, a community center, an early learning childcare center, and improvements to the historic, 19th


-century Cathedral building. And for the Radnor Prop-


erty group, the planning of 3737 Chestnut Street presented many challenges.


For starters, the owner of the building beside 3737 on Chestnut Street “didn’t want to sell,” Mc- Fadden explained, adding, “That informed the building’s construc- tion.” Subsequently, the Episcopal Cathedral’s Offi ce building was constructed between the privately owned residence and the Interna- tional House. The fi rst fl oor of that offi ce


Rendering of 3737 Chestnut Street. Image: courtesy of the Radnor Property Group


building “has room for a ground fl oor tenant,” McFadden said, explaining, that the offi ce “has a courtyard that connects it to the


continued on page 4


tor of the Netter Center for Com- munity Partnerships. “We brought


continued on page 4 University City Review


The annual Charles Dickens Birthday Party, a mid-winter traditi on of the Friends of Clark Park, will be held Sunday, February 8. This year’s performances begin at 2 pm sharp. Admission is free.


West Philly developer fi nds re-use for historic church and saves the building from demolition By Nicole Contosta


Staff Reporter S


aving the Saint Peter’s Church at 47th


and Chester


from the wrecking ball, “is not your typical moneymaker,” said West Philadelphia developer, Guy Laren.


Nonetheless, Laren, with the University City Review @UCReview1


CELEBRATE DICKENS @UCReview1


continued on page 2


PAGE 2 VALENTINE'S GUIDE


CURIO: OTHELLO CHECK OUT OUR


Curio Theatre Company kicks off 2015 with an inti mate and in-your- face version of William Shakespeare’s Othello. Directed by Dan Hodge (co-founding arti sti c di- rector of The Philadel- phia Arti sts’ Collecti ve), this version of Othello will be raw.


PAGE 8


CRIME/POLITICS/OP-ED ..............3 NOTES ON MUSIC .......................6 ALMANAC ...............................10 CLASSIFIEDS/YELLOW PAGES .....11


RESTAURANTS ON PAGE 7!


VALENTINE'S DAY GUIDE FOR GIFTS AND


NEW EXHIBITION


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12