At the February 21 Council meeting, Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services Anne Papageorge gave a presentation on Penn Connects 3.0 which is a continuation of the original Penn Connects from 2006. Phase 1 was from 2006-2010, followed by Phase 2, known as Penn Connects 2.0, that covered 2011-2016. Now, Phase 3 extends from 2017 until 2022.  She mentioned that sustainability was added as a goal ever since Penn’s Climate Action Plan began in 2009. All new Penn buildings now have a minimum target of LEED silver and some actually achieve gold or platinum. 

Phase 3 has already seen several capital investments completed including Hill College House renovations and the Larry Robbins House, an adaptive reuse and partial new construction. A number of Century Bond HVAC Projects have been completed while others are currently in construction. The Cira Centre South—which includes the FMC Tower, the Cira Garage and Green as well as the EVO apartments—is a third- party ground lease to Brandywine Trust and third-party development. Several Penn offices, including General Counsel, Development and Alumni Relations, Investments and Risk Management occupy space in the FMC Tower.

Houston Hall Market will be getting enhanced food options as will the new Franklin’s Table Food Hall at 34th and Walnut, with both being renovated. Pennovation Works is an ongoing project; the New College House West and the new building for Wharton and an electrical substation at 37th and Spruce are both in the design phase. The Dental School’s addition to the Schattner Building is under construction, as is the Perelman Center for Political Science & Economics and the renovation to Richards A&B Towers, along with the Penn Museum renovations. The Penn Medicine projects in construction include the Center for Healthcare Technology and the Pavilion. A third-party developer is creating graduate and professional student housing at 400 South 40th Street, Luna on Pine.

Afterwards, the Open Forum portion of the meeting consisted of seven speakers who had submitted their topics in advance (Almanac February 20, 2018). They were informed that their concerns would be addressed by the Steering Committee.