The Philly Pretzel

The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest building in the world is planned for the parking lot at 18th and Arch Streets in Center City. Walnut Street Capital, a Philadelphia development company headed by Garrett Miller and a pension fund from Washington State are joining forces to develop the project. This type of funding enables the project to skit around the current credit crunch that is starting to put a damper on commercial projects. With the funding in place the obstacles ahead include the need for zoning adjustments and attracting prospective tenants to occupy the office part of the building.

This development would fill a hole in a critical block of Center City and help expand the Central Business District  filling the emptiness between Logan Square and Market Street. The design of the building will have a mix of uses and design elements that try to create vibrant public spaces to be used at all hours.

The American Commerce Center would be constructed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED gold certification and the developer anticipates, if approvals are in place, breaking ground next summer and finishing it by 2012.

FAST FACTS:

     Website: American Commerce Center

     Location: 1800 Arch St.

     Height: Office Tower-1500 feet (525 feet higher than the Comcast Center)

     Usage: retail, hotel and office space (even a movie theater)

     Cost: $800 million, 2.2 million square feet

     Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox

     Developer: Walnut Street Capital

     Groundbreaking: Summer 09′?

     Features:

        •  1500′ Spire
        •  26 Story Hotel / 5 Star (300 rooms)
        •  2 Roof Gardens (473′ and 6th Floor accessible to hotel guests)
        •  3-6 Stories of Ground Floor Retail along Arch St with a public garden
        •  Underground Parking (383 spots with dedicated bicycle parking)
        •  LEED Gold Certified

Impressive news. This is a great day for Philadelphia. Check out the official renderings and more information on philly skyline.

Technorati: Philadelphia skyscraper, Center City, American Commerce Center, tallest buildings, Philadelphia real estate

posted by janice

1. More colleges than Boston.

Two Ivy League schools in an hours drive, dozens of excellent universities.

2. One of the world’s biggest city parks.

Depending on who you talk to, Fairmount Park may be the 2^nd largest city park in the world. Tennis, trail riding, fishing, a Japanese garden, free Orchestra concerts, it’s all there.

3. America’s 2^nd-largest shopping mall.

King of Prussia complex is up there with the Mall of America.

4. Half of the American population is within a two-hour drive.

Great for your business. Not so great if you’re trying to avoid

annoying relatives. But still.

5. Midway between DC and New York.

No need to drive, either. Amtrak is excellent.  Manhattan is an easy day trip and a

do-able commute of about 75 minutes by train.

6. Midway between the mountains and the beach.

90 minutes to the Poconos. An hour fifteen to the Jersey Shore.

7.  Great BYOBs

Philadelphia is not just famous for restaurants, but for bring-your-own bottle restaurants. A huge savings for thousands of Philadelphia foodies.

8.  Easy flights in and out of Europe.

Travel veterans know it: Philadelphia customs is a faster process than New York’s.

9.  And then there’s Delaware.

Forty minutes down 95 and no sales tax on anything. Enough said.

10. More Impressionists than Paris.

Philadelphia’s museums have the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside France.  So there.

Technorati Tags: relocation,relocating buyers,Philadelphia,reasons to move

We love Philadelphia-can’t you tell? But a few people have told us that they think our town is less than friendly to newcomers.

Hmmm.

Some of this may be cultural-yo, you’re in the Northeast. And Philadelphia’s strength is in its neighborhoods, where the line between close-knit and clannish can be thinner than a South Philly pizzelle.

But like any town, Philadelphia gives what it gets.

If you’re friendly, you’ll make friends. Coffee shops, churches and organizations you enjoy are great places to meet your neighbors. If you wait for people to come to you, you may be disappointed, but that’s true in Philadelphia or anywhere else.

Not that we’d ever want to live anywhere else.