PHILADELPHIA -- The Hub, an eight-story, mixed-use apartment building that opened in December 2006 at 40th and Chestnut streets near the University of Pennsylvania campus, is expanding its footprint with the imminent construction of Hub 3939, next door at 3939 Chestnut St.

The 57,900-square-foot Hub 3939 will feature 60 apartments atop 12,200 square feet of retail space on the first floor. Philadelphia-based Teres Holdings is expected to begin construction in early 2009 on the $19.5 million project and finish by year’s end. The developers are operating under a ground lease from Penn and will construct and manage the building.

“These mixed-use properties offer safe and attractive new rental units close to campus for our students, while providing new street-level shops and amenities for the whole community,” Anne Papageorge, Penn vice president of facilities and real estate services, said. “And leasing our land to private developers generates private investment in University City and continues to be a successful model of urban redevelopment.”