As a way to fill the budget deficit, the School District of Philadelphia has proposed a plan to raise 61 million dollars on its abandoned properties. William Penn High School on the corner of Broad and Master has been added to this list after it closed in June of 2010, in which Temple expressed their interest in early October, via letter.
The property expands a total of 10.5 acres and is priced at a market value of 32.5 million dollars. With it being merely blocks away from main campus, Temple sees it as an opportunity to expand down Broad as a part of the Visualize Temple Master Plan.
Visualize Temple has replaced the 20/20 Plan for development of Temple’s campus.
“With the 20/20 Plan ending,” said Ray Betzner, Assistant Vice President of University Communications. “The time seemed right for us to ask questions about whether there may be opportunities beyond our current footprint.”
Temple’s plans for the property remain unknown.
“Temple is interested in the exploring the acquisition of the former William Penn High School property, said James Creedon, Senior Vice President for Facilities. “We will be evaluating the School Districts procurement process for the sale of the property.”
If Temple get’s the property, they will follow the guidelines set out by the Visualize Temple Master Plan.
“We don’t have any specific plans for this property right now,” said Betzner. “If we were to get it, we would use the master planning document that is in the process right now to guide any decisions we might make on what the property would be used for.”
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