For some time, we’ve been bringing student housing development in the area surrounding Temple University to your attention. These projects range from the one-off structure with a couple of units built by a small-time developer, to medium-sized multi-unit buildings, to more massive projects like Paseo Verde and Diamond Green. What’s been true about every one of these projects is that Temple has had virtually nothing to do with them. The South Gateway project at 1600 N Broad St., however, is a different story.

Impressive

This project has been under construction for about a year and will be ready in the fall of 2013. The most prominent aspect here is the twenty-six story residential tower which will ultimately house over a thousand students. In addition, this site will contain student lounges, a large courtyard with green space, a new dining hall, parking, and retail on Broad Street. This project has become necessary with the dramatic growth of the University over the last decade and speaks to Temple’s increased efforts to plan its campus as it grows. Check out these construction photos:

Current view

Looking up at the tower

And one more rendering

Clearly, the design work from MGA Partners represents a dramatic improvement over some other nearby architecture.

No kidding

Will the sudden boost in housing stock in 2013 have an impact on the the private student housing development that’s exploded in this area in recent years? Will rents come down? Will vacancy go up? Or is the demand for housing so great in this area that there’s enough tenants for everyone? At the very least, we suspect that this will tame the development momentum some, in the next couple of years.

But we’ll see. If Temple keeps growing at its current clip, things could keep chugging around here after all.