Drexel's Master Plan

Why Drexel Students Should Love Their Construction Zones

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Work Cited

Works Cited

ACTIONS: A Sequence of Integrated Landscape and Building Investments. drexelmaterplan.com. Drexel University, Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://drexelmasterplan.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/masterplandraft_111209_actions.pdf>.

Bairos, Lauren K. "Drexel's Master Plan and Tuition Pricing." Personal interview.

Burt, Hill: Architecture, Engineering, Interior and Landscape Master Planning Design. Drexel University: 2007 West Philadelphia Campus Master Plan. Burt, Hill: Architecture, Engineering, Interior and Landscape Master Planning Design. Drexel.edu. Drexel University, 1 May 2007. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://www.drexel.edu/facilities/design/masterPlan/~/media/Files/facilities/pdf/2007_master_plan.ashx>.

Dougherty, Mac. "Thoughts on the New LeBow Building." Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2012.

Editorial Board. "Honing the Campus Master Plan." The Triangle. 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://thetriangle.org/2012/01/20/honing-the-campus-master-plan/>.

Eyerly, Mike. "About the New LeBow College of Buisness." Http://www.BuildingLeBow.com. Drexel University, 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://www.buildinglebow.com/content/about-new-lebow-college-business-building>.

Professor. "Professor and Student Interviews." Personal interview.

Roczniak, Justin. "Reviewing Drexel's Master Plan." The Triangle. 13 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://thetriangle.org/2012/01/13/reviewing-drexels-master-plan/>.

Shapiro, Aaron M. "Thoughts on the Master Plan." Personal interview. 1 Mar. 2012.

Wang, Lona, Amy Testa, and Niki Graff. "Thoughts on Residential Living." Personal interview. 21 Feb. 2012.

Wright, Stanley. "Construction on Chestnut Street Begins." The Triangle. 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://thetriangle.org/2012/02/10/construction-on-chestnut-

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An Investment Into Your Future

Overall, these additions may come at a cost, but in the end, we believe it will help Drexel become an elite institution. More students will apply and it will become more and more competitive to become a Drexel Dragon. The campus will be more beautiful than ever and the school’s reputation will be higher than it ever was before. As graduates, we will look back at all those problems we saw and see it as steps along the path that helped make Drexel a great school that helped shape our professional careers. In the end, the campus plan will make Drexel a better place for everyone and will improve our education’s value in the future.

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Reach Out!

Drexel's Master Plan already has the ability to quell the problems most students are having, it just needs to be broadcasted to the student body. We propose that Drexel launches a campaign that will reach both current and prospective students attention. At the sites, we think that Drexel should post their draft imagery so that students can envision what the construction sites will become, exciting and creating optimism throughout the student body. We also think it would be effective if Drexel runs updates of the Campus Master Plan through a social media outlet, like Facebook or Tumblr. Once there, students could check in on the ongoings of the Campus Master Plan and feel like they are actively engaged as a member of the Drexel community. Taking the initiative to publicly display important information regarding the Campus Master plan, instead of sugarcoating the current construction stage is something the University needs to address.

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Chrome Future

Students attending Drexel do face problems today, but it will make Drexel’s future that much brighter. For far too long we’ve been deemed an unappealing campus and multiple lackluster student complaints about Drexel compared to the castle style of the University of Pennsylvania right across the street. Inevitably, Drexel University is going to rise from its slump with a bigger and better looking campus. Think of it like a “chrome future” complimenting the opposing the black marble framework of UPenn, opening majestic gates to University City. The new LeBow College of Business building will be able to accommodate all their students and provide them with an organized and friendly academic atmosphere, as well as serving as a great addition to Drexel’s campus environment. The new housing options will open the gates for more students to enroll and provide housing for all the students who wish to live on campus, enabling Drexel to expand its horizons and become a more centralized community. The additions to MacAlister will help Drexel tie into the vibrant and exciting University City culture, enhancing student life like never before. All of this is going to be continually reevaluated and we have a lot of questions concerning how the cost of tuition will vary. But for now, we should appreciate the steps Drexel University is taking because there are no quick solutions to the kind of changes everybody wants in life and that’s when we will learn to have a greater appreciation for what we get out of it.

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Improving Student Life

Drexel has done an excellent of securing a future occupancy for greatness on its own front lawn. The American Campus Communities contractor has made an impressive contribution of $97million to the building costs of Drexel’s new dorms and retail space on Chestnut (Wright). Yes, retail space is what we are going for and with it we’ll only pull in a wider variety of places to eat on a regular basis so we don’t get so sick of the same food. An interview with the Senior Vice President for Student Life and Administrative Services, Jim Tucker, assured us that they chose ACC for its experience and high level of design, proposal, and beds for perspective students (Wright). After construction, ACC is going to lease the bottom floor of their building plans to 11 retailers hoping to bring some color into the campus aside from The Hans Dining Center or Curritos. There’s also going to be a new quad built around the Handschumacher for student lounging and additive greenery to the campus’ look. Drexel’s campus will liven and become much more attractive to students and even city residents with the new architecture including the renovations to the Barnes and Nobles bookstore. It needs to be known that this isn’t only a job of retail but living space too. Myers has had an expiration date on it since the day it came into fruition and was built decades ago only as a temporary dormitory. The school intends on replacing the building with a new 500-bed suite style living environment (Board). These renovations are only few of many for the campus in the near future. “The plan will change hundreds of times before its completion. We are very excited by the plan as it stands now, but we cannot wait for these plans to be opened up to the general student population to be critiqued and improved” (Board). Sadly most of the plan will not be completed by the time the current freshmen class has graduated. But as some have said, we’re at least paving the road for the advanced education and campus life of future generations.

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Construction on Campus

In the past few months the construction that’s been taking place in front of MacAlister Hall and the impending decision on Myers Hall’s “mortality” have become the pinnacle of student discussion. There’s a lot that isn’t getting out there to the student body because of mixed opinions and lack of knowledge. There is a lot of speculation on the new construction and also some swaying pessimism toward it. Given the stigma Drexel’s put around itself in relation to costs and it’s living space or look, no one can blame people for being a little anxious about what the Master Plan has to offer. It’s become increasingly tougher for people to venture to the Handschumacher Dining Center with the construction tents zoning off the sidewalks. A Texan campus construction company named American Campus Communities (ACC) plans on fashioning a whole platter for our perspective campus has already bought up the 3200 block of Chestnut Street in which we see most of the noticeable construction due to any frequency to Handschumacher, Creese, or MacAlister frequenters (Wright). An interview with one student revealed an informed opinion about the construction. The student said, “I understand Drexel’s want to improve their campus and building but they should have spaced out the construction dates and not done it all consecutively. It’s disruptive and in our time as students we will forget what Drexel University looks like without the cranes, rubble, and chain fences. Drexel University should be doing the construction during the summer session while the freshmen aren’t here so they don’t leave the impression their leaving so early on (Shapiro).” What exactly is the plan for the area and also what is to become of Myers Hall and it’s potential replacement? The answers to these detailed hopes of progression are all outlined though, and we are given them in article interviews by “The Triangle” or in the Master Plan itself. The fear that “the devil is in those details” (Board) isn’t necessarily true.

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Chestnut Street Development (rendering)

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Campus Housing Solutions

The Master Plan offers to take in to account the projected increase in enrollment and continued growth of Drexel University. Construction has already begun on 32nd and Chestnut Street for student housing and retail development . University housing will offer new 863 beds in the form of townhouses, two-bedroom suites and single-student units (Wright). Potential locations for further housing and other facilities are situated on street spaces. Additional housing will be provided by new 500-bed residence halls on 33rd Street and 34th Street . As well as a new 500-bed Race Street Residence Hall in the residential zone of Campus, which will relieve the pressures/issues/complaints towards residential living (Burt 18). Adding new residence halls will invigorate the student experience and enhance student life. The tuition might rise due to the construction of the new residential buildings but we wouldn’t have the problem of overflowing students. With more residential halls, the Residence Living Office Services will be more organized and campus living will expand.

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Towers Parking Lot

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Campus Housing Problems (continued)

Current residents have problems with the mass number of students living in Towers. Towers Hall is already at 150 percent occupancy and feels crowded (Roczniak). Some students have issues with the bathrooms being dirty because some many people use them. Amy Testa, a freshman student, said, “If there were less amount of students in residential halls, then more places would be more open to students like in the study rooms, the lounges, etc” (Testa). The current dorms in all resident halls share the same problem of limited utilities and space. With more resident buildings, there will be newer dorms, kitchens, bathrooms, lounges, etc.” Niki Graff, a senior resident advisor, stated, “There will be more opportunities for students to become resident advisor, which will help students with the pressure of their tuition” (Graff). The current issues of the overflow of freshmen and the old current dorms cause issues for students. If the university plans to keep admitting students at its current rate, it will have to continue to expand its facilities and residence halls (Roczniak). Building new resident halls will solve these problems as well as new features of new housing options.

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Lancaster Walk