Philadelphia Overlooked as Gutmann Picks New York and DC as Sites for New Penn HQ

Penn announced on Tuesday that—despite its student body and the large amounts of land it has purchased and gentrified in West Philly—it will be building new offices in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Despite a call from many to invest in the community from which Penn has taken the most, Gutmann decided Penn offices would function better in “superior” cities like New York and D.C.  The offices and facilities will be hours outside of central campus, but Gutmann noted, "it's worth the schlep."

Gutmann noted that the HQs would be a nice compliment to the Penn Biden Center in D.C. and the Penn community on Wall Street, further adding to Penn infrastructure that neither Philadelphia residents nor Penn students have access to.  

In an interview with UTB, Gutmann explained her decision, reminding our reporter that D.C. and New York are where “our Wharton alumni live.” The HQs will shuffle in $2.2 billion to the cities’ respective economies. When asked why the investment was not given to Philadelphia, Gutmann remarked that “this city doesn’t have enough cupcakeries and avocado pop-up stores to be ready for our investment.”

“I can’t think of any more deserving cities, with more inventive, creative, and inspirational people for Penn’s attention and investment,” noted Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania.