Although it will be easy to pay at the Draught Horse, buying alcohol will be another matter. The restaurant will have a kickoff event featuring Mayor John Street, other civic leaders and Temple officials on February 21. Its opening is just the first drop in a flood of construction projects wrapping up this year that will continue the revitalization of the Main Campus and its community. The conversion of the 1900 block of Liacouras Walk, which will transform the strip of rowhouses into retail and Temple office spaces, is due to be completed this fall. The block will be home to a 22-bed inn and assorted retail shops.
Serious discussions are ongoing for a convenience store, cellular phone store and a clothing store.
Private developers are handling the building improvements. It will be the fourth new student residence hall on the Main Campus in recent years as demand for on-campus housing soars. It will be completed in October. Interior renovations to Barrack Hall, formerly College Hall, will provide additional space for the Beasley School of Law, including a lecture hall, student affairs office suite, administrative offices, student organization offices, classrooms, seminar rooms and student lounges. The new entry will provide wheelchair access via elevator to the building's three floors, and the primary entry from the proposed new quad.