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Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: News
Running to U. City, local retail finds support in Penn community
Philadelphia Runner opened on Walnut Street last week
St. John Barned-Smith
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The store, located on Walnut Street between 36th and 37th streets, celebrated its grand opening last week.
Philadelphia Runner's opening was the latest in a series of local businesses that have come to University City in the last several years, following student staples like The Last Word Bookshop, Pizza Rustica and Metropolitan Bakery.
Wylie Belasik, manager of the new store, said Philadelphia Runner had been considering expanding from its original site at 16th and Sansom streets for some time, and decided on the University City location after Penn reached out to the store's owners.
Ed Datz, Penn's executive director of real estate, wrote in an e-mail that "since the inception of a formal retail strategy in 2002, Penn has been committed to a mix of local, regional and national business," adding that the University has been able to foster a "climate friendly to local businesses because we have a variety of locations and store sizes to choose from."
Larry Maltz, a resident of the area for more than 20 years and owner of The Last Word Bookshop, said, "It's great [Penn is] trying to bring in more locally owned stores."
Datz also wrote that he was pleased with Philadelphia Runner's arrival.
The store "is a great example of our collaboration with our brokers to bring a local business that serves the community to Penn's campus," he wrote.
However, one issue facing landlords like Penn is that some local tenants do not have the credit backing of large regional and national firms.
Andi Pesacov, a real estate broker contracted by Domus - the multi-use apartment complex located at 34th and Chestnut streets - said, "Nationally known stores raise … the value of surrounding properties by bringing a customer base."
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