Student Housing Leads Urban Turnaround

Posted by on May 24, 2006

An $80 million mixed-use devleopment near Temple University in North Philadelphia? Anyone who knows the area knows how unlikely that seems. But it is happening.

Temple's student population, now at 34,000, is the impetus for the new development. The university is no longer building dorms, which opens a huge market opportunity for developers. Where once student housing was considered high-risk, it has become more mainstream and can be very lucrative, according to Kenneth Rosen, chairman of Rosen Consulting Group in Berkeley, CA, who spoke to The New York Times.

The development around Temple is one more example of how universities are tearing down the walls and connecting to their surrounding communities to the benefit of everyone.