Comcast Center (office building)

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name = Comcast Center


location = 1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
status =
use = Office
roof = ft to m|975|abbr=yes
top_floor =
floor_count = 57
groundbreaking = January 2005
constructed = 2005-2008
completed = May 2008
opening = June 6, 2008
floor_area = convert|1238000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on²
elevator_count = 35
cost = $540 million
architect = Robert A. M. Stern Architects
engineer = Thornton Tomasetti
contractor = L. F. Driscoll Company
site-cast concrete contractor = Madison Concrete
mechanical contractor = A.T. Chadwick Co.
developer = Liberty Property Trust
owner = Liberty/Commerz 1701 JFK Boulevard L.P.

Comcast Center is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia. The building officially opened for business on June 8, 2008, and its primary tenant is Comcast.

On June 18, 2007, it became the tallest building in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in an official topping-out ceremony led by then Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street.

When the final beam in the construction was raised on June 18, ironworkers of Local Union 401 attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam in homage to the statue atop Philadelphia City Hall, in an attempt to break the curse of Billy Penn. [cite journal|last=Holcomb |first=Henry J. |title=Comcast Center topped off|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/8055132.html|accessdate=2007-06-25]

Design and construction

Designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects, LLP, the Comcast Center rises to a height of 975 feet (297 m). The Center has 57 floors, 56 rentable with convert|1248000|sqft|m2|-2 of office space and about convert|23000|sqft|m2|-2 of retail space. In 2006, the building was valued at $523 million.cite news
url=http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/14338197.htm
publisher=Philadelphia Inquirer
title=Liberty sells 80% of Comcast Center
date=April 14 2006]

Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc., Houston, TX served as the Architect of Record for Comcast Center.

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 One Comcast Center Philadelphia, PA 19103-2838, it is located at 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard and 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.

Owing to the terracing and idiosyncratic notch, the Philadelphia Inquirer has joked that Comcast built a giant USB memory stick. [ [http://inquirer.typepad.com/blinq/2008/03/name-that-tower.html Blinq: Did Comcast Build a Giant Memory Stick? ] ]

Part of the public space includes a new entrance to the SEPTA's Suburban Station with a convert|120|ft|m|0|sing=on 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 in an area called The Market at Comcast Center
* 500-seat concourse level dining court
* 120 private space underground parking garage
* A giant high-definition video wall in the lobby, standing 25 feet high by more than 83 feet wide and is 10 million pixels, which is a popular attraction in the building [ [http://finance.paidcontent.org/paidcontent?GUID=5675069&Page=MediaViewer&Ticker=%24CNMI Comcast Center Claims Its Place Atop the Philadelphia Skyline] ]
* Two-story cafeteria ("Ralph's Cafe") on the 43rd and 44th floors [ [http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080427_Taking_a_walk_in_the_clouds.html Taking a walk in the clouds] ]
* 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 convert|873000|sqft|m2|-2 on 39 floors in a 15 1/2-year lease — the entire project was named after Comcast.

The lighting scheme for the building was designed by Quentin Thomas Associates and features LEDs at a color temperature of 4100k to complement the existing fluorescent lighting present in the office space. The LEDs are placed in the corners of the building along the spandrel panels, in the cut-outs on the north and south faces and lastly on top 5 floors of the tuned liquid column damper. In addition there is a set of color-programmable LEDs on the top floor facing downwards that will be set to celebrate various events and holidays similar to other buildings in the Philadelphia skyline.

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 convert|1030|ft|m|0 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, convert|250000|sqft|m2|-3|sing=on companion tower is planned for the southwestern section of the parcel.

Comcast Center also contains the largest Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) in the world. [cite web |url=http://www.motioneering.ca/User/Doc/pp_comcast_center.pdf |title=Motioneering |accessdate=2007-05-02 |format= |work= ]

Ownership

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.

See also

* 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

External links

* [http://www.comcast.com/comcastcenter/ Official Comcast Site]
* [http://phillyskyline.com/bldgs/comcast/ phillyskyline.com]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=102154 Emporis]
* [http://www.skyscrapersunset.com/projects/construction/comcast.html SkyscraperSunset.com]
* [http://inquirer.philly.com/slideshows/News/070617comcast/ Philadelphia Inquirer's Construction Slideshow]

References