PHILADELPHIA | 1901 Arch | ?? FT | ?? FL | PROPOSED

[shakman]

New iteration: Third Comcast skyscraper potentially in the works as Center City block bought piece-by-piece

[QUOTE]Liberty Property Trust has been quietly assembling a series of properties at 19th and Arch streets in Center City for what many speculate could be the site of the third skyscraper for Comcast Corp.
Liberty is pursuing what could eventually amount to a block bound by 19th, Arch, Cherry and 20th streets. The location is cater-corner to where Liberty (NYSE: LPT) is developing the Comcast Innovation & Technology Center and is a stone's throw from the Comcast Center. Another tower in that area would establish an expanded urban campus for the cable giant and continue to push the city's Central Business District deeper into Logan Square.[QUOTE]
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...ks.html?page=2




Old iteration
Liberty Property Trust will propose to built a 27-story, 400,000 sqft commercial highrise in Center City. This proposal will be located on paking lot on the northwest corner of North 19th and Arch. The site appears to be across Arch Street from BCBS. Also on the opposite corner from One Logan Square. As of yet, I could not find any renderings. It is great news to read that the developer will build on an existing surface lot.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...new-tower.html

I am illiterate when it comes to posting a google or bing map of the site. Therefore any assistance would be helpful.

[summersm343]

Liberty Property Trust meets with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association sometime this month... so we should see renders then.

Word is this is going to turn out around 400ft

[wanderer34]

Hope this fizzles out, ACC FOREVER!!!!!

But seriously, why couldn't Liberty just add the 400' building to it's current plaza, where it was originally proposed in Comcast Center's rendering, but purchase more land to build another building????? ACC would've been a much better addition for CC.

[Parkway]

This isn't the ACC lot this will be built on another parking lot at the Northwest corner of the intersection.

[summersm343]

A map of where this tower will sit.

http://goo.gl/maps/VvWur

[summersm343]

Article about this today in the Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

http://blog.philadelphiarealestate.c...19th-and-arch/

[shakman]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Article about this today in the Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

http://blog.philadelphiarealestate.c...19th-and-arch/

Is there an exact date when the developer will make their presentation to the Logan Square Neighborhood Association?

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by shakman

Is there an exact date when the developer will make their presentation to the Logan Square Neighborhood Association?

No... however I just received word this morning that Liberty has acquired tenants to fill ~80% of the building. No word if these tenants have signed an official lease yet or not but Liberty seems pretty serious about this. Will keep everyone informed when I find out more (my friend's uncle works for Liberty)

[summersm343]

As of now, LPT's plans are a 22 floor, 370ft tower.

[summersm343]

Article on this from NakedPhilly today

http://nakedphilly.com/logan-square/...19th-and-arch/

[SkyscraperGuru]

Well, this is good. I hope this moves on, this will add some nice density here.

[summersm343]

Some info on this. Looks like a few Law Firms are in talks with Liberty about occupying this building. Could see action on this tower this year.

Major space users in Center City are itching for more SF but being met by low vacancy. That’s a formula for new office development, a real possibility in 2013, according to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank executive managing director Wayne Fisher.

Wayne says Center City’s trophy office buildings, mostly towers over 40 stories, benefited the most from last year’s uptick in leasing. The trophies didn’t have high vacancies going into the downturn, and aggressive rents attracted tenants who might have otherwise stuck with their previous digs. Deals could be had for around $30/SF, down from 2000s highs around $35 to $40/SF. Now trophy space is extremely tight, and rents will go up this year.

There are only eight full floors of available space among trophy assets, Wayne adds—about 160k SF all together. Liberty Property Trust has plans for a roughly 400k SF office building, and a few law firms are kicking that tire, Wayne says. In Philly, new construction comes in at roughly a $45 to $50/SF proposition, but the higher cost would be partly offset by operating and layout efficiencies, LEED status, and other new-building advantages.

http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-rea...-city-offices/

[MadhattersLT]

Sorry to bring this up from the depths but is this thing dead???

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by MadhattersLT

Sorry to bring this up from the depths but is this thing dead???

Possibly for now. I think Liberty's full attention seems to be on the new Comcast Tower. Once that gets off of the ground, we could see more movement on this.

[McBane]

I'd love to see this tower come to fruition. We've seen very few office buildings built over the past 10 years (longer?) and most have been built with huge tax breaks.

Further, the corner of 19th and Arch is really being transformed. This is what is looked like last year: http://goo.gl/maps/Tcgvm

And in 3-4 years, all three of those empty lots could potentially be filled. Which is pretty cool. It will also cement Arch St as a true part of the city's business district (which is really just Market and JFK).

[Castle]

Originally Posted by MadhattersLT

Sorry to bring this up from the depths but is this thing dead???

I heard just two weeks ago from a source 'in the know' that Liberty was negotiating the purchase of the building on the North end of this lot (the structure that borders Cherry Street and houses the Child Advocates). Comcast is expected to fill most (if not all) of the office space in this future tower, as they might be moving and/or creating alot of jobs as a result of the TWC merger.

I heard zero details regarding height or size of the project and I suspect we probably won't hear much regarding this until sometime in 2015.

[McBane]

That would be cool, although it would be nice if Comcast/Liberty to do something about the former Comcast II lot: http://goo.gl/maps/FW4LA

[MadhattersLT]

I wouldn't think CITI would have altered plans that Liberty had with possible tenants for this property.. Maybe a money thing?

And yeah plans for Comcast II or Penn Plaza II kinda just vanished.

[summersm343]

Third Comcast skyscraper potentially in the works as Center City block bought piece-by-piece

Liberty Property Trust has been quietly assembling a series of properties at 19th and Arch streets in Center City for what many speculate could be the site of the third skyscraper for Comcast Corp.
Liberty is pursuing what could eventually amount to a block bound by 19th, Arch, Cherry and 20th streets. The location is cater-corner to where Liberty (NYSE: LPT) is developing the Comcast Innovation & Technology Center and is a stone's throw from the Comcast Center. Another tower in that area would establish an expanded urban campus for the cable giant and continue to push the city's Central Business District deeper into Logan Square.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...ks.html?page=2

[boxbot]

Liberty has also made overtures to buy the building that houses the Russell Byers Charter School at 1911-13 Arch St. The building totals 55,000 square feet.

Depending on how big the footprint would be, it sounds like they don't have all the property they want yet.