PHILADELPHIA | Comcast Technology Center | 1,121 FT | 60 FLOORS

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

So this will probably start this summer right?

If so that's awesome, I think this building will look great in Philly. I just realized it will also be the tallest official height outside of NYC and Chicago

Yep. Expected groundbreaking in June.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Yep. Expected groundbreaking in June.

Nice!

Too bad the ACC didn't get built here though, that building was even cooler

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Yep. Expected groundbreaking in June.

Council to vote on Comcast Tower's transit concourse extension.

See link:

http://planphilly.com/articles/2014/03/0...cast-tower-s-transit-concourse-extension

Also, click on diagram to see .pdf drawing of concourse extension for those that are interested.

[MusicMan84]

Today, I happened to think about how the setbacks on Commerce Square may appear to have some similarities with CITC, once it is completed. Could lend to a sense of cohesion...


Untitled by Music_Man84, on Flickr

[Plokoon11]

Exactly, I thought the same thing when I first saw it. Like a cousin to Two square commerce / blue cross. With resemblence to the form of NBC Tower / Rockefeller in the skinny shape. And a tiny bit of Comcast Tower.

[Flyers2001]

My view from 1818 Market watching this thing rise will be clutch!

[R5Ryder]

It will be cool watching it rise from there, but it will be a shame that it will eventually completely block the view of BAT, which is IMO the most underrated of Center City's highrises.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Flyers2001

My view from 1818 Market watching this thing rise will be clutch!

Yeah, once this baby hits about 300 feet, you'll see it. Less than that, the Sterling will block it.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by R5Ryder

It will be cool watching it rise from there, but it will be a shame that it will eventually completely block the view of BAT, which is IMO the most underrated of Center City's highrises.

Agreed, Remarkable skyscraper. Not only one of my favorites in Philadelphia, but one of my favorites in the world.

[Philly-Drew]

Flyers, wow!! Awesome view man! You get paid for that?

R5ryder, it won't completely block the BAT from that view, remember,the church is right beside the Comcast Center, and so is 18th street. My guess is that it blocks only the western side of the BAT.

When it's completed, the depth of that same picture will be amazing.

Thanks for posting that pic, and also MusicMan's pic. Both are great pics.

[duffey]

yeah i don't think BAT will be blocked at all. maybe just a little on the left side. its also one of my favorites. just needs some gargoyles...then it'd be perfect.

[Flyers2001]

Originally Posted by Philly-Drew

Flyers, wow!! Awesome view man! You get paid for that?

R5ryder, it won't completely block the BAT from that view, remember,the church is right beside the Comcast Center, and so is 18th street. My guess is that it blocks only the western side of the BAT.

When it's completed, the depth of that same picture will be amazing.

Thanks for posting that pic, and also MusicMan's pic. Both are great pics.

Yeah there are some absolutely amazing views, I am going to put together a thread with all of them in a couple weeks. There should be some good shots of Cira South as well. Surprisingly the "pepto Bismal" building kinda blends well from my office. I know its off topic, but i like this one as well.

[SJPhillyBoy]

Maybe this information should go in the very first post of this thread.

Will house 3,000 - 4,000 employees.

Source:
http://corporate.comcast.com/images/CITC-Fact-Sheet-FINAL-1-15-2014.pdf

The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center
The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will be a $1.2 billion world-class, state-of-the-art facility along the 1800 block of Arch Street. It will complement Comcast Corporation’s global headquarters, the Comcast Center, and expand the Comcast vertical campus in Center City.

Location
•1800 Arch Street Developer
•Liberty Property Trust Owner
•A joint venture between Comcast Corporation and Liberty Property Trust

Design Architect
•Lord Norman Foster, Foster + Partners Architect of Record
•Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc.

General Contractor
•L.F. Driscoll Co.

Development
•1,121 feet tall
•59-story tower
•Approximately 1.517 million rentable square feet, including 1.285 million rentable square feet of office space, 230,112 square feet of hotel space, and 2,682 rentable square feet of retail space
•Featuring 200+ room luxury Four Seasons hotel with world-class spa, fitness, event and meeting facilities
•Exciting new restaurant located on the top floor of the building, offering spectacular 360 degree of the city
•Media center in the heart of the City, featuring the studio and office operations of NBC 10/WCAU and Telemundo 62/WWSI
•State-of-the-art incubator space for local technology start ups
•Creation of an extended commuter concourse connected underground to Comcast Center and Suburban Station
•Constructed of stainless steel and glass façade
•Designed to attain LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council
•Comparable rental rates to existing Trophy Class buildings in Philadelphia, including the Comcast Center

Timeline
•Ground breaking anticipated Summer 2014
•Project completion anticipated Q4 2017

Total Project Cost
•$1.2 billion in total
•$40 million in Commonwealth and City support to defray the cost of public infrastructure improvements. No government dollars will be used to support the office and hotel components of this project.

[brian.odonnell20]

I wanna see a rendering from the classic stadium view where everything is spread out

[R5Ryder]

Originally Posted by brian.odonnell20

I wanna see a rendering from the classic stadium view where everything is spread out

From the stadiums, the taller highrises are pretty clustered. Comcast removed the "air" (and some definition) between Lib1 and BAT. This building will further add to that cluster, giving the illusion that the Philadelphia highrises are all right next to each other within a block or two (I mean that's not too far from the truth, but the visual doesn't exploit that from many other angles.)

You do get a good east - west spread which highlights the other small / medium highrises which often get missed since the taller ones are all bunched together. If there was a taller highrise (not necessarily a supertall) that was spread out from that tight market west area, it would further highlight the other medium buildings and really improve the skyline view from the south (and I guess North, but I've never really looked at it from due north.)

I understand why there won't be any 700 ft buildings east of Market or west of 18th-ish (exception being if Cira continues to be developed, but that's too far separated to really impactt that particular view IMO - kind of like "book ends".)

[brian.odonnell20]

Umm that's what I meant by spread out, the view of all the high rises as a whole from river to river...

[Philly-Drew]

theWatusi, can you modify the first page of this thread to include the information that SJPhillyBoy posted above? The information should be near the top of the post. Thanks

[Londonee]

Just 2682sf of rentable retail space? Seems incredibly small and a bit disappointing. Comcast has the scale and clout to bring some decently sized destination retail to this project, but it's not to be.

[GarCastle]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Just 2682sf of rentable retail space? Seems incredibly small and a bit disappointing. Comcast has the scale and clout to bring some decently sized destination retail to this project, but it's not to be.

It may just be enough space for a coffee shop and a couple food places for employees to hit at lunch.

Would be funny though if it was a bit Xfinity store. Still a lame arse name, may as well have gone with Xfabulous! LOL

Cheers,
G.

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by GarCastle

It may just be enough space for a coffee shop and a couple food places for employees to hit at lunch.

Would be funny though if it was a bit Xfinity store. Still a lame arse name, may as well have gone with Xfabulous! LOL

Cheers,
G.

Yeah 2600 sq is basically a couple of food places - am totally fine either way as the bigger issue is jobs here - this is not a great retail (large scale) IMHO but wonder if with the connected concourse they expect to synergize the two. Also wonder if they will expand the outdoor areas at the original Comcast.

To this point and with a new NBC studio (albeit mostly local but think telemundo as well) I could see an interactive space with some form of Xfinity working here

But on the whole this is one building where the job growth is far more significant than any seamless retail integration - also for the proposed new Commercial tower catty-corner - lack of amenities in this sense here could help warrant need for a better designed retail frontage there if that makes sense

Cant wait for this puppy to start to go up...