Thomas Jefferson School of Law purchases downtown property
Thursday, October 25, 2007

Thomas Jefferson School of Law announced Thursday the purchase of East Village property for a proposed eight-story campus.
Dean Rudolph C. Hasl said relocating the law school downtown has been in the works for about two years.

The architectural plans have been submitted to the Centre City Development Corp. (CCDC) for approval. Half of the ground floor would have school offices while the other part would be commercial space for a cafe, bookstore and a live client legal clinic operated by Thomas Jefferson. There would also be three levels of underground parking.

The new building, located at 1155 Island Ave., will have a gross square footage of 177,000 and a net square footage of about 142,000.

Thomas Jefferson has reportedly outgrown its current facilities on San Diego Avenue in Old Town.

The school has a student body of nearly 800 along with a full-time faculty and staff of more than 100. In 2010, the school expects an estimated student enrollment of nearly 1,000.

Hasl anticipates the campus groundbreaking to take place in April, but a contractor has not been selected. The goal is to have classes commence in the new location for the 2010 fall semester.