Comcast Center (office building)
Comcast Center
Information
Location
1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United
States
Coordinates
39°57′17″N 75°10′06″W / 39.95472°N
75.16833°W / 39.95472;
-75.16833Coordinates: 39°57′17″N
75°10′06″W / 39.95472°N
75.16833°W / 39.95472; -75.16833
Status
Complete
Groundbreaking 2005
Opening
2008
Use
Office
Height
Roof
975 feet (297 m)
Technical details
Floor count
58
Floor area
1,250,000 square feet (116,000 m2)
Elevator count
37
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 in Center
City,
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, United
States. The 58-story, 975 feet (297 m) tower
is the tallest building in Philadelphia and the
fifteenth tallest building in the United States.
Originally called One Pennsylvania Plaza
when the building was first announced in
2001, the Comcast Center went through two
redesigns before construction began in 2005.
Designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern for
Liberty Property Trust, the Comcast Center
was delayed as the developers tried to get
the Center designated a Keystone Opportun-
ity
Improvement Zone. The designation
would exempt tenants from most taxes for fif-
teen years as a way to encourage develop-
ment in disadvantaged areas. Giving the
Comcast Center the designation was suppor-
ted by many state and city officials who
hoped to keep corporations within Phil-
adelphia, but was strongly opposed by other
building owners who felt the building would
have an unfair advantage in attracting ten-
ants. Even though the bill was not approved
in the Pennsylvania General Assembly in
2004, Liberty Property Trust went forward
with construction.
At the beginning of 2005, the final re-
design and its new name the Comcast Center
was unveiled. The building is named after its
lead tenant, cable company Comcast, which
makes
the
skyscraper
its
corporate
hea