Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has confirmed that demolition work is complete at a 406-car multi-level garage at the northwest corner of Filbert and North 38th streets at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center campus at 3800 Powelton Avenue in University City, West Philadelphia. The demolition appears to be a part of an extensive overhaul of the medical campus, which includes the construction of a nine-story, 481,702-square-foot parking garage in the western section of the campus superblock, which was completed relatively recently.
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Credit: Google
The multi-level garage still stood at the site when YIMBY visited near the end of 2023. By now, however, the structure has been fully torn down and the lot has been leveled into a gravel field.
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. January 2025
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. January 2025
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. January 2025
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. January 2025
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. January 2025
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. January 2025
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center site plan. Image via the Civic Design Review submission
The existing garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Image via the Civic Design Review submission
Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Looking northwest. Credit: Google
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Looking southeast. Credit: Google
3910 Powelton Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. November 2023
The new garage, designed and engineered by Pennoni and THA Consulting and trimmed in an ornate white lace mesh, increases the on-campus parking capacity to 1,483 spaces and add retails space along Powelton Avenue.
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2023
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2023
Penn Presbyterian Garage at Filbert Street and North 38th Street. Photo by Jamie
The structure had a certain Midcentury Modern aesthetic appeal, fashioned in brick and concrete in a distinctly Brutalist manner. Ultimately, however, the building held minimal aesthetic value, and offered nothing to the pedestrian. Since that time, the structure’s function has been taken over by a new garage, which both accommodates several times more cars, takes up a less centrally located site, and offers a public plaza and ground-level commercial space. In turn, we are excited to see new development that will inevitably rise at this prime location in place of the demolished structure.
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Why not offer funding, bonuses and/or tax exceptions to large corporation builds like this one to incentivize then to construct underground garages, rather than above ground? Wouldn’t that make sense, considering the location?
Underground garages obviously present significantly more engineering challenges and may be completely prohibitively expensive even with tax incentives unless in prime real estate.
Why are so many parking 🙄 spots needed? When are City Council and the Mayor going 🤔 to get some more affordable housing on the neighborhoods they are 😢 tearing down?
AY…..MEN!!!
Removal of a five story, concrete and brick, 406 spot, auto parking garage on a significant thoroughfare is a good thing. The addition of a nine story, concrete, brick and glass, 1,482 spot, auto parking garage across the street from multiple family homes is a travesty. Check out Google Maps August 2024 for a view of narrow Sloan St., on one side family housing and on the other a massive hostile garage wall just a few feet from the street. Sure, there are street trees and a narrow strip of turf, but Penn-Presby’s garage is an affront.
Although the Powelton Avenue side is set back from the street with a wide sidewalk, landscaping, and street trees, the glass fronted retail space is vacant, at least in August 2024. Brick and mortar retail is suffering from e-commerce. Structured parking retail is notoriously difficult to lease. Nearby residential density is low. Powelton Ave. is lined by pedestrian unfriendly activity, including a large surface parking lot across the street and a fenced off dumpster area just east between Baker’s Bay Guard House and Wright/Saunders Building.
If anyone is going to frequent the new retail, it will be those who drive. Fortunately, there’s plenty of garage parking on site.
Perhaps least understandable, Penn-Presby elected to preserve a couple dozen surface parking spots on Filbert St. adjacent to the new plaza. I guess 1,482 spots wasn’t enough — now there’s 1,506. Rather than surface parking, the plaza could have been expanded.
The plaza itself is modest in size, bordered by street (Filbert and Sloan) on two sides, surface parking on one, and the new nine-story garage on the other. Cars and their exhaust do not create wellness, especially for those with respiratory illness. Auto fumes and noise are unpleasant. There are a few fixed-in-place plaza benches and immature trees. There are no tables, umbrellas, art, water access or much of anything that would attract Homo sapiens. There’s no opportunity for people to face one another or to gather in a group.
Ouch.
Jefferson University’s recently developed 12th and Chestnut’s plaza is much better designed.
What will Jefferson build on site now that the parking garage has been torn down?
Its a Penn property, but it looks like there aren’t any current plans to use the emptied lot though they could be announced soon if they’re planning on something.
Dasher Lawless is a USA-based OEM of AUTOParkit. AUTOParki can deliver the same number of parking stalls in half the space as compared to a conventional parking garage. So in this example, the same number of parking stalls could fit into 4 traditional stories. What is more impressive is that AUTOParkit provides a valet service without a valet attendant. The driver drops off and picks up their car at grade. Cars are delivered back to their owners on average in 180 seconds. Not a typo.