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Comcast Center
Under construction, February 2007
Information
Location	1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Status	Under construction
Groundbreaking	January 2005
Estimated completion	Fall 2007
Opening	March 2008
Use	Office
Height
Roof	975 ft (297 m)
Technical details
Floor count	57
Floor area	1,238,000 ft (377,300 m)²
Elevator count	35
Cost	$540 million
Companies
Architect	Robert A. M. Stern Architects
Structural Engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Contractor	L. F. Driscoll Company
Developer	Liberty Property Trust
Owner	Liberty/Commerz 1701 JFK Boulevard L.P.

Comcast Center is a skyscraper currently under construction in Center City Philadelphia. It is scheduled to be completed in March 2008.^[1] As of June 18, 2007, it became the tallest building in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in an official topping-out ceremony led by Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street.

When the final beam in the construction was raised on June 18th, ironworkers of Local Union 401 attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam in homage to the statue atop Philadelphia City Hall, and in a half-joking attempt to break the curse of Billy Penn.^[1]

Contents 1 Design and construction 2 Ownership 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects, LLP, it will rise to a height of 975 feet (297 m), Comcast Center will have 57 floors, 56 rentable with 1,248,000 square feet (115,900 m²) of office space and about 23,000 square feet (2,100 m²) of retail facilities. As of 2005, over 70% of the office space has been reserved. In 2006, the building was valued at $523 million.^[2]

The building is situated between Arch Street, 17th Street, 18th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard (the building's footprint obliterated a one block section of Cuthbert Street). While its official address will be 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, the tower itself rises on the Arch Street side of the block, due to the Suburban Station concourse and rail tunnel that run directly beneath Liberty Plaza in front of Comcast Center.

Part of the public space includes a new entrance to the SEPTA's Suburban Station with a 120-foot (37 m) high glass-enclosed winter garden. Other features include:

• multiple three-story stacked atria rising on the south face of the building
• ½ acre landscaped public park, Liberty Plaza, with a fountain display and an outdoor cafe seating 85.
• expansion of Suburban Station's underground retail concourse
• 500-seat concourse level dining court
• 120 private space underground parking garage
• new entrance lobby addition to historic Arch Street Presbyterian Church
• sustainable building design with the goal of achieving a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council
• waterless urinals

The project had originally been named One Pennsylvania Plaza, but when Philadelphia-based Comcast Corporation agreed to a significant presence in the tower — taking 873,000 square feet (81,100 m²) on 39 floors in a 15 1/2-year lease — the entire project was named after Comcast.

The building has gone through four iterations before the current and final design was adopted. The second version of One Pennsylvania Plaza would have risen to a height of 1,030 feet (314 m) with 62 stories, and would have been the tallest building in the United States, outside of New York City and Chicago.

A second 16-story, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m²) companion tower is planned for the southwestern section of the parcel.

Upon completion, Comcast Center will contain the largest Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) in the world.^[3]

The building was begun by Liberty Property Trust of Malvern, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania state government has contributed $30 million for the building's public spaces. In 2006, Liberty Property Trust sold 80% of their interest in the building to CommerzLeasing & Immobilien AG, a German company and subsidiary of Commerzbank AG. Liberty will continue to operate the Comcast Center as a joint venture with Commerzbank. The 80%-Part of the CommerzLeasing & Immobilien AG will merge into a closed end fund, sold in Germany by another daughter of the Commerzbank, the Commerz Fonds Beteiligungen, CFB.

Conceptual drawing from southeast elevation of Comcast Center

Comcast Center along with the rest of the Philadelphia Skyline

Comcast Center near completion

• List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia
• List of tallest buildings by U.S. state
• List of tallest buildings in the United States
• List of tallest buildings in the world

• Official Comcast Site
• phillyskyline.com
• Emporis
• SkyscraperSunset.com
• Philadelphia Inquirer's Construction Slideshow

Coordinates: 39°57′17″N, 75°10′06″W

v • d • e Philadelphia skyscrapers
Current	Comcast Center · One Liberty Place · Two Liberty Place · Mellon Bank Center · Bell Atlantic Tower · G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building · One Commerce Square · Two Commerce Square · Philadelphia City Hall · 1818 Market Street · The St. James · PSFS Building · PNC Bank Building · Centre Square II · Five Penn Center · One South Broad · 2000 Market Street · Two Logan Square · Cira Centre · 1700 Market · 1835 Market Street · Centre Square I · Aramark Tower · Wachovia Building · One Logan Square · PECO Building · Lewis Tower
Under construction	Residences at the Ritz-Carlton · The Murano
Approved	Parkway22 Tower I
Proposed	Bridgman's View Tower · Old City Harbor Tower II · Old City Harbor Tower III · Mandeville Place · Trump Tower Philadelphia · Old City Harbor Tower I
See also	List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia · Buildings and architecture of Philadelphia