Liberty Property Trust

Comcast Technology Center under construction July 2016. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Observing the Comcast Technology Center After the Topping Out of the Concrete Core

7:00 am on July 19, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The majority of Philadelphia’s tallest skyscrapers stand in Center City to the west of City Hall, which include the Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street. The supertall, which is the tallest building in the city, has risen into the skyline between 2014 and 2017. Designed by Foster + Partners, the tower’s structure is compromised of a central concrete core surrounded with a steel frame, with the facade mostly clad in glass and metal. The tower was developed by Liberty Property Trust, which collaborated with Comcast to erect their second tower in the city. In this article, Philadelphia YIMBY takes a look back to when the Comcast Technology Center was under construction at the time when the core had just topped out.

Observing the Comcast Technology Center Shortly After Crane Removal

7:00 am on July 16, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street in Center City has dominated the Philadelphia skyline ever since it became the city’s tallest skyscraper in 2017. The tower rises 62 stories and 1,121 feet tall, topped with a bright beacon. The tower was designed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, who has done many well-known projects around the world notable for their exteriors of glass, metal, and decorative lighting. The developer of the project is Liberty Property Trust, which had also developed One Liberty Place when the company was known as Rouse and Associates under Willard Rouse. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY looks back at when the crane was first removed from the near-completed Comcast Technology Center.

Comcast Technology Center lantern testing from Pennsauken. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking Back At The Testing Of The Lantern On The Comcast Technology Center

7:00 am on June 13, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street in Center City was completed on August 12, 2019, when the hotel portion officially opened, becoming the tallest skyscraper in Philadelphia. The tower stands 1,121 feet and 60 stories tall, with a central concrete core and steel floor plates. The skyscraper was designed by Foster and Partners, which has designed several buildings that features metal highlights and bright lighting features, and developed by Liberty Property Trust, which used to be known as Rouse and Associates when Willard G. Rouse III ran the company before his death. Today YIMBY looks at the process of testing the lighting at the building’s lantern around the time of its completion.

Two Liberty Place from One Liberty Place. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at Two Liberty Place, Philadelphia’s Fourth-Tallest Building, in Center City

8:00 am on June 8, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The majority of the skyscrapers that dominate the Philadelphia skyline are the trophy towers that were built in the late 1980s. One of these buildings is the 848-foot-tall, 58-story Two Liberty Place at 50 South 16th Street in Center City, the city’s fourth-tallest building. The skyscraper is a part of the Liberty Place complex that consists of two towers connected by a mall and a hotel. The skyscraper was designed by Helmut Jahn, who also designed buildings such as MesseTurm in Frankfurt, Germany, 50 West Street in New York City, and the Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville, Florida, among many others. The developer of the project was Rouse and Associates, which eventually transformed into Liberty Property Trust, which built both of the Comcast skyscrapers that today dominate the skyline.

Observing The Comcast Technology Center Shortly After Topping Out

7:00 am on May 30, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Over the past 40 years, Center City has become home to multiple structures over the height of 500 feet. Philadelphia City Hall was the tallest structure in Philadelphia from 1894 to 1986 at 548, then in 1987 the steel structure of One-Liberty-Place eventually passed the statue to soon top out its spire at 945 feet. The same developers of Liberty Place also developed the next tallest skyscraper in the city, the 974-foot Comcast Center from 2007 to 2017. In 2017, across the street to the west, the Comcast Technology Center became the tallest skyscraper in the city since 2017 and its first supertall skyscraper at 1,121 feet. For this development, Comcast had partnered with Liberty Property Trust, which was originally known as Rouse and Associates. The tower was designed by Foster and Partners, which has designed iconic structures such as the Gherkin in London and the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan. Today Philly YIMBY looks back at the period when the iconic tower’s spire topped out.

Philadelphia skyline lit up from South Philadelphia. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Observing the New Lighting Schemes in the Philadelphia Skyline

7:30 am on May 20, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Last month, Philadelphia YIMBY reported on new lighting schemes that are decorating the nighttime skyline. Though it was already known that One Liberty Place at 1650 Market Street and the W/Element Hotel at 1441 Chestnut Street, both located in Center City, are having their lighting tested, both now feature together in the skyline, with new programming visible to the residents of the city. The lights on One Liberty Place, which used to be dimmer and had sections of the lighting noticeably lit a different color, the lights have now been fixed and brightened. The W/Element Hotel used to be a dark skyscraper in the night time skyline with just the aviation warning lights noticeable, but now the skyscraper is lit up nearly as much as the FMC Tower in University City.

One Liberty Place elevation and Helmut Jahn. Photo and image via JAHN

As the World Remembers Helmut Jahn, One Liberty Place Lights Up the Skyline

8:00 am on May 10, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY often shares exciting and uplifting news regarding the city and its development. However, on May 8th, in Chicago, world-renowned architect Helmut Jahn was tragically killed in a road incident not far from his eponymous firm. According to the press, Jahn was biking near his home, 40 miles away from Chicago, when he was struck by two vehicles and was pronounced dead the next day at 81 years old. The architect was born on January 4, 1940 in Zindorf, Germany, and has designed an incredible amount of buildings between 1974 and 2017. In his lifetime, Jahn has produced unique and awe-inspiring designs throughout the world, which stood out as ahead of their time, and has left a dramatic imprint on the Philadelphia skyline.

Designing the Comcast Technology Center, The Tallest Skyscraper in Philadelphia

8:00 am on March 21, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street in Center City has stood as Philadelphia’s tallest skyscraper since 2017, with a height of 1,121 feet, and Philadelphia YIMBY takes a look at various concepts through schematics and models of the tower before the design was finalized.

Comcast Center (right) in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking Back at the Comcast Center, Philadelphia’s Former Tallest Skyscraper

8:00 am on March 20, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Comcast Center at 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard is the first of a two-tower complex, which had drastically changed the Center City skyline when it passed the height of One Liberty Place, becoming Philadelphia’s tallest building. The structure was completed in 2008 and stands 974 feet and 58 stories tall, with a concrete core and steel floors. The exterior features high quality, mirror-like glass, a departure from the traditional masonry style that Robert A.M. Stern Architects is known for, as seen in limestone-clad towers such as The Alexander at 1601 Vine Street and 30 Park Place in New York City.

Philadelphia nighttime skyline from New Jersey. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Decorative Lighting Upgrade Complete Atop One Liberty Place in Center City

7:30 am on February 6, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

One Liberty Place has been a centerpiece of the Philadelphia skyline since 1987, with a nighttime display that highlights the angled crown and spire. Designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn and developed by Rouse and Associates, the 945-foot-tall, 61-story tower is part of a complex that includes the similarly-sized Two Liberty Place tower as well as a hotel and a shopping mall. Recently, an upgrade has been completed on the building’s decorative lighting, restoring its place on the night skyline.

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