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Originally Posted by GeneralLeeTPHLS
This is a massive project, and I like the design and it's looming form.....but the blocky spire feels like a very awkward ending to the building at the top. It makes me look right at the other tower with simple geometry nearby....and it just doesn't flow well. That's just my view of it...but I do appreciate how the tower was designed and cladded. (Actually...the spire isn't a bad idea for the project, but it just looks like a gimmick more than a part of the building. I wouldn't necessarily consider this a supertall IMO)
(Huh....I thought this was entirely office space for this project. Well, this project is pretty dynamic it seems)
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For me, it’s just a waste of space, and too damn blocky at that!!! The ACC was light years ahead in terms of design and architecture and it still boggles my mind why the ACC was never erected after the Philadelphia City Council approved a measure allowing for supertalls to be built.
The CITC isn’t even a true supertall. Every part of the tower except the spire is below 911’, making this tower actually shorter than the Comcast Tower, and it’s not easy to look at anyways. I also look at it as a symbol of corporate welfare on behalf of Comcast while other companies (Lincoln Financial, Sunoco, CIGNA, Santander, etc) are allowed to leave the city limits while other cities (Chicago, Boston, SF, Atlanta, Miami, SF, and NYC) are expanding their economies and raising their corporate portfolios.
I always wanted Philadelphia to be a part of that elite group of cities, and although the city has been Top 5 for much of its history, I’m afraid by 2020 Census it’s going to be dropping down off the Top 10, or in danger of being surpassed by cities like San Antonio, Phoenix, San Diego, Fort Worth, San Jose, Austin, and Dallas.
Imagine those aforementioned cities being in the Top 10 and Philadelphia being knocked out of the Top 10 for the first time in American history. Chicago may slip to fourth place behind Houston, but that’s nothing compared to not being a Top 10 American city.
Lastly, I was actually hoping that Philadelphia would actually get the ACC built once it was approved, and it seemed seemed like everything was right on track, and the Phillies were contenders and the Flyers made the Stanley Cup in 2010, but it also seems like economically, the city has seemed to lose steam since companies have left Philadelphia and the city hasn’t really grown in comparison to DC and Boston.
I’m currently in SF and seeing the new Salesforce Tower personally is breathtaking, even though it’s not the tallest building compared to the CITC, let alone the entire state of CA (that honor goes to the Wiltshire Grand Center in LA), but I can foresee S.F. getting something like no more than 1500’ in the near future since SF is only about 49 sq ft of land and land prices are at a premium so it has no choice to go but up, LA still has tons of cheap land, if not cheaper on average. All I’m saying is that when it comes to Philadelphia, not building the ACC was a missed opportunity!