3675 Market Street, 1st new building at uCity Square, to break ground

The first new building at uCity Square, a 6.5 million-square-foot mixed-use community in University City, will break ground today at 4 p.m.

The 14-story tower, 3675 Market, is being described as the “physical nexus” of uCity Square, which will serve as a center hub for the sciences and academic and medical campuses of University of Pennsylvania and Drexel. The building itself will include 345,000 square feet of lab space, offices, co-working spaces, retail, and community areas. It’s already 50 percent leased.

Designed by New York-based ZGF Architects, plans for the glassy office tower were given the green light by the Civic Design Review last February. At that meeting, the designers said they were working with local landscape architecture firm OLIN on the design plans for a public space that will be adjacent to the tower.

Today’s groundbreaking means 3675 Market joins a long list of more than a dozen big-time projects under construction in University City. It’s expected to finish up in early 2018.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that uCity Square was a $6.5 million project. It is a 6.5 million-square-foot project. We regret the error.

• 3675 Market Gets the OK from Civic Design Review [Curbed Philly]
• Mapping 15 major University City projects under construction [Curbed Philly]
• Mapping 25 high-rises under construction in Philly right now [Curbed Philly]