PHILADELPHIA—The Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill L.L.P. has been selected by area property owners to draw up a new master plan for the 85-acre rail years in University City.

The plan will be geared to attracting development at the property next to 30th Street Station and its plethora of highway and mass transit connections, according to The Inquirer. The University City property owners that selected the Skidmore firm included Amtrak, Drexel University and Brandywine Realty Trust, which is the developer of the Cira towers nearby.

"The Philadelphia site is a bit unique. It's a nice big parcel to work with," and property owners, passenger and freight railroads, and city agencies all have signed on as a group to approve the plan by its 2016 target, says Janet Campbell-Lorenc, senior director of Northeast Corridor business development for Amtrak.

In addition to SOM, the master-planning team will include the New York-based engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff and HR&A Advisors, a New York City-based development and energy-use consulting firm.

By agreeing to the drafting of a master plan, the University City landlords hope they can secure public funding to cover the Amtrak and SEPTA train yards, and for walkways and road ramps that will open the covered space for development, says Natalie Shieh, principal officer for Amtrak's 30th Street Station Precinct Development Project. See story in The Inquirer.

Instant Insights /

Skidmore, Owings Firm to Design UC Master Plan

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