Comcast Technology Center

The Comcast Technology Center is a "supertall" skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia.[5][6] The 60-floor building, with a height of 1,121 feet (342 m), is the tallest building in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the fourteenth-tallest building in the United States and the tallest outside Manhattan and Chicago. The tower is located on the southwest corner of 18th and Arch Streets, one block west of the Comcast Center, the headquarters of Comcast Corporation. A hotel—the highest in the country[7]—and restaurant are located on the top floors, while central floors contain offices for Comcast software developers and engineers, and the lowest floors have television studios and retail stores.[8][9]

Not to be confused with Comcast Center.
Comcast Technology Center
Topped out, August 2018
Location within Philadelphia
Comcast Technology Center (Pennsylvania)
Comcast Technology Center (the United States)
General information
StatusComplete
TypeHotel, restaurant, office, parking garage, retail, television studios
Location1800 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates39.9549°N 75.1704°W / 39.9549; -75.1704
Construction started2014
Completed2018
CostUS$1.5 billion
OwnerComcast
Liberty Property Trust
Height1,121 feet (342 m)
Technical details
Floor count60
Floor area1,566,000 sq ft (145,500 m2)[1]
Design and construction
ArchitectFoster and Partners[2]
Kendall/Heaton Associates
DeveloperLiberty Property Trust
Structural engineerThornton Tomasetti[3]
References
[4]

Construction began in mid-2014 and topped out on November 27, 2017.[7][9] The first personnel began moving into the building in late July 2018[10] and the tower was open to the public in October of that year.[11]

Design and construction

The lead architect was Foster and Partners,[12][13][14] with Kendall/Heaton Associates the collaborating architect,[2] and interior design by Gensler with Foster and Partners in collaboration.[15] The L.F. Driscoll Company was the construction contractor. The tower contains approximately 1.566 million rentable square feet, including 1.334 million rentable square feet of office space, 230,112 square feet of hotel space, and 2,682 rentable square feet of retail space.[1]

A set of five tuned sloshing dampers containing 125,000 gallons of water are located in the ceiling of the 57th floor, beneath the hotel lobby. The moving water is a counteracting force on windy days to reduce swaying of the upper part of the tower. A-shaped steel braces are embedded between hotel rooms on the east and west sides, to stiffen the upper part of the building against strong, prevailing winds.[16]

Use

The building consists primarily of workspace for Comcast employees and the Four Seasons Hotel, formerly on Logan Circle.[17] The hotel is on the 48th to 56th floors with a lobby and restaurant on the 60th floor. Accommodations include 219 rooms, 39 of them suites.[18] The building also includes television studios, restaurants, a retail mall, and a parking garage. The entire project contains about 1,566,000 square feet (145,500 m2).[1] The property is co-owned by Comcast and Liberty Property Trust, and had an estimated construction cost of $1.5 billion.

Comcast's NBC station WCAU (channel 10), along with Telemundo's WWSI (channel 62) announced plans to move their studio operations and offices from City Avenue, the Philadelphia-Bala Cynwyd boundary, to several of the lower floors of the building.[19][1] The stations completed the on-air move on October 21, 2018, though some operations (such as the base for the station live vehicles) will remain in Bala Cynwyd for the time being.[20]

  • Construction from northwest corner, October 2015
  • Construction of the concrete core, from inside the Comcast Center, March 2016
  • Construction from the southeast, May 2016
  • From the base of the Comcast Center, December 2016
  • From the southwest corner, November 2017
  • After top-off and prior to opening, as viewed from a kayak on the Schuylkill River, April 2018
  • From Interstate 76, June 2018
  • Nearly complete Comcast Technology Center, July 2018
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See also

References
  1. "Featured Properties (1800 Arch St)". libertyproperty.com. Liberty Property Trust. Archived from the original on July 18, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  2. "Comcast Innovation and Technology Centre - Philadelphia". Foster + Partners. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  3. "Comcast Innovation and Technology Center". Thornton Tomasetti. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. "Comcast Technology Center". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  5. Adelman, Jacob (17 November 2016). "Big tower, shorter name: Comcast cuts 'innovation' from high-rise's moniker". Philly.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  6. Kostelni, Natalie (3 July 2014). "Comcast skyscraper construction begins; new details emerge". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  7. Romero, Melissa (November 28, 2017). "Comcast Technology Center is officially the tallest building in Philly". Curbed Philly. Vox Media, Inc. Archived from the original on November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  8. Hurdle, Jon (January 28, 2014). "Planned Comcast Tech Center Raises Sights in Philadelphia". Int. N. Y. Times.
  9. Lattanzio, Vince (November 30, 2017). "The Comcast Technology Center Is Philly's Tallest Building and Yes, There's a Mini Billy Penn Up There". NBC10 Philadelphia. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  10. Winberg, Michaela (30 July 2018). "Comcast II is operational: the first round of employees have moved in". Billy Penn. Spirited Media. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  11. Cineas, Fabiola (15 October 2018). "The New Comcast Technology Center Will Open to the Public This Week". phillymag.com. Philadelphia Magazine. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  12. Fernandez, Bob (January 17, 2014). "Comcast to build second, taller Phila. skyscraper". Philly.com.
  13. Area Development Online News Desk (January 16, 2014). "Comcast Plans $1.2 Billion, 60-Story, Innovation And Technology Tower In Downtown Philadelphia". Area Development Online. New York, United States: Halcyon Business Publications. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  14. Donohue, Steve (January 15, 2014). "Comcast building $1.2B innovation and technology center in Philadelphia". FierceCable. Washington, D.C., United States: FierceMarkets. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  15. Kostelni, Natalie (8 September 2014). "Comcast chooses firm to design interior of new Philadelphia skyscraper". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  16. Bob Fernandez (December 10, 2014). "Engineers on the rise: Four young professionals tackle a career-making project". philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  17. McDevitt, John (5 June 2015). "Four Seasons Hotel About To Close Its Doors On Logan Circle". CBS Philadelphia. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  18. "Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia". fourseasons.com. Four Seasons Hotels Limited. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  19. Burdo, Alison (19 February 2014). "New Comcast Building a Gamechanger for NBC10 and Telemundo 62". NBC10.com. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  20. Fernandez, Bob (11 October 2018). "In Bala Cynwyd since '52, WCAU in final stages of downtown move to new Comcast Center". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
Records
Preceded by
Comcast Center		 Tallest building in Pennsylvania
342 metres (1,122 ft)
2018-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Comcast Center		 Tallest building in Philadelphia
342 metres (1,122 ft)
2018-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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