Comcast Corporation and Liberty Property Trust has commissioned Foster + Partners to design a 59-story, $1.2 billion mixed-use tower planned to neighbor Comcast’s existing global headquarter in Philadelphia. The 1,121-foot glass and stainless steel building is expected to be the tallest in the United States, outside of New York and Chicago, and the largest private development project in the history of Pennsylvania.
With over 1.5 million square feet of rentable office space, the new “Comcast Innovation and Technology Center” will serve the company’s growing workforce as well as provide space for local technology startups. By becoming home to the operations of several local broadcast television stations, the building will also establish itself as an important media center in the heart of the city.
In addition to the office space, the tower will also include a 200-room Four Seasons hotel, sky-high restaurant, world-class spa, fitness, event and meeting facilities, as well as direct access to SEPTA’s Suburban Station and a block-long, glass-enclosed indoor plaza that compliments the headquarters existing outdoor plaza.
“This is a very special project,” Norman Foster commented. “It is an opportunity to create a unique and sustainable model for mixed-use, high density development, which uniquely combines spaces for high tech research and development with restaurants, gardens, fitness facilities and a significant public reception space – a window on Philadelphia.
“At ground level this ‘urban room’ embraces the city; it opens the building to the public and anchors it as a vital new neighborhood. It also links directly into the below ground public transport system. Above this, the highly flexible loft-like spaces and studios are designed for a dynamic way of working – an engine for the city’s evolution as the kind of leading technology hub presently associated with Silicon Valley.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Comcast and Liberty Property Trust to further develop an outstanding location and a new landmark on the Philadelphia skyline.”
