- Rumor has it that Liberty Property Trust is close to announcing several new office towers that will be built for Comcast, adjacent to Comcast’s current headquarters in Center City. They allegedly retained famed British architectural firm Foster + Partners — who designed such landmarks as the Hearst Tower in NYC and the iconic Swiss Re tower in London — for this project, which is expected to transform Philadelphia’s skyline. Comcast may deny they will consolidate Comcast and NBC Universal’s headquarters in Philadelphia, but analysts speculate they intend to move hundreds of back-office jobs to the Philadelphia region, and specifically, these buildings. Such influx of new jobs to Philadelphia could be a major boom to our real estate market, potentially increasing residential home values and continuing the surge in retail, hospitality and other construction in and around Center City.
- On a smaller scale, Wolters Kluwer Health, a multimedia company that provides information to the healthcare industry, recently announced plans to relocate over 100 jobs to Center City from Ambler. Further, they will expand their current lease at Two Commerce Square to 84,000 square feet from 76,000 square feet. Longtime Philadelphia area residents surely recall decades when companies and jobs rapidly fled the city. The Wolters Kluwer announcement and the potential relocation of hundreds of Comcast employees to Philadelphia therefore is welcome news for the health and stability of Philadelphia’s commercial real estate market.
Stay tuned to Capstone’s website, its social media sites, and its newsletter as we hopefully learn more about these exciting projects in the next couple of weeks. Until next time, have a great week!