A view of the Firestone site after development | Image: Drexel University
Drexel University has acquired the long-sought Firestone tire service station at 32nd and Market, a 26,675 square foot triangular parcel that’s in the nexus of campus development. The parcel’s exact future use hasn’t been determined, but likely possible uses are for academic space, student residences, and retail. Drexel’s 2012 master plan emphasizes mixed use buildings that activate the street and sidewalk. View that plan HERE.
“Drexel has had this strategically located property in its sights for many years,” said Drexel’s senior vice president for student life and administrative services James Tucker. “The time was right to acquire the parcel now and begin to connect the east and west sides of our campus along Market Street.”
The parcel is a critical connector between the University’s campus and an “innovation neighborhood” envisioned by Drexel president John Fry adjacent to 30th Street Station.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement with Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, Firestone can operate in the location for up to three years.
About the author
Nathaniel Popkin is the co-editor of the Hidden City Daily and co-producer and senior script editor of the documentary film series "Philadelphia: The Great Experiment." He's the author of Song of the City: An Intimate Portrait of the American Urban Landscape and The Possible City: Exercises in Dreaming Philadelphia.
