A residence hall where Drexel students studied, slept, laughed and learned for 45 years will make way for a multipurpose green space that generations of Dragons have yearned for. The space is slated for completion in 2024.
The University is replacing the Myers Hall residential building at 33rd and Race streets with a 40,000-square-foot open lawn surrounded by 16,000 square feet of native planting beds.
The space will provide a kind of “front lawn” for students, fulfilling a longstanding need for outdoor and recreation space on the University City Campus.
In addition to eight critical existing trees, 104 new native canopy and understory trees will be added. While a lawn and planting beds will cover much of the site, it will also include pathways of porous pavers and a plaza with seating. New native and adapted species of plants and natural grass were chosen for adaptability to urban conditions, drought tolerance to reduce irrigation demands, increased biodiversity, support of birds and insects, ability to provide shade cover, and reduction of the urban heat island effect.
The space will include multiple seating areas and numerous options for electrical outlets.
“We intend to add a lot of power on the site and install outlets wherever we can, including on lamp posts and within the planned bench,” says Director of Design Kimberly Miller.
Drexel hired businesses owned by minorities and/or women and consultancies to bring the space to new life.
The project will follow phased demolition of the residence hall that began in the summer of 2023. The building had first opened in 1977 as “the New Residence” and, in 1984, was renamed in honor of Harold M. Myers ’38, HD ’83, an alumnus who worked for Drexel for over five decades and came out of retirement in 1987 to serve as the University’s interim president. The residence hall went offline in 2022.