Target cancels new University City location at former International House

A new Target store planned for 3701 Chestnut St., the building formerly known as the International House, is no longer slated to open.

The former International House, a 14-story brutalist student housing tower near the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, was recently renovated and dubbed the Mason by New York-based CSC Co-Living in partnership with the Philadelphia-based Alterra Property Group. The retail space, located on the western side of the building’s plaza, is nearing completion.

The renderings for the $6.5 million, two-story commercial addition were clearly marked with Target’s iconography, and campus newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, confirmed plans for the store last year.

Earlier this year Target closed one of its locations in Center City, at 12th and Chestnut Streets, and the company is facing headwinds nationally.

“We routinely assess our current projects and have made the decision to no longer pursue a store in this location. We continue to operate 10 stores in Philadelphia,” Target spokesperson Jim Joice wrote in an email.

Joice did not immediately answer questions about why the company decided against the location.

CSC Co-Living, an investment group specializing in apartment projects with shared kitchens and bathrooms and other communal spaces, acquired the International House in 2020. Their plans for the building, which dates to 1970, included three phases: first residential renovations, then the retail addition where Target planned to set up shop, then a third phase for life sciences or other commercial uses in the rear of the structure where the former Light Box Theater used to be.

The building was given historic preservation protections around the time CSC acquired it.

“The good news is that when we’re finished, we will have built a beautiful … retail space right on Chestnut at the heart of the University City corridor,” said Leo Addimando, managing partner at Alterra. “It’ll be a very nice architectural additive part of the project. It’s not meant to look like it’s been there forever. It’s glass and steel juxtaposed against that brutalist 1960s-era facade.”

The Mason has more than 400 renovated apartments, which have been leasing for almost two years now. The retail phase — which city records show cost $6.5 million — is nearly complete.

There is not yet an alternate tenant secured for the space. CSC Co-Living did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Addimando said the next phase of the plan, focused on life sciences or other commercial uses, may be delayed by the current rise in interest rates.

“There are development rights there [the former theater] for life sciences and or other types of commercial use,” said Addimando, who noted his firm isn’t working on that part of the project. “I don’t think it has to be life sciences. It can be a mixed-use space back there.”

Commercial space for life sciences related industries, where laboratory professions require on-site jobs less vulnerable to remote work, are seen as an important hedge against the shrinking demand for office space. Areas like University City, which allow companies to be close to Philadelphia’s medical and educational institutions, are particularly valuable.

But the life sciences industry has proven vulnerable to interest rate hikes, which have made it harder for start-ups to secure funding. Still, it is seen as an important market for the future of cities like Philadelphia, and some analysts are hopeful the industry will soon bounce back.

“In today’s interest rate environment, that may be more or less viable,” Addimando said. “But it’s a great, great location.”