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Posted on Wed, May. 08, 2002 |
By Henry J. Holcomb Inquirer Staff Writer
Brandywine Realty Trust is scheduled to present plans this morning for a 32-story office building, designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, that it says will be under construction next year at 30th Street Station and will open in late 2005.
Pelli, best known for his work on the world's tallest buildings, the 1,482.6-foot-tall Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has designed a prism-shaped, silvery glass structure. "It will take on the quality of the sky... with its many facets reflecting different parts of the sky, it will sparkle," Pelli associate Mark Shoemaker said.
With the project, the region's top suburban office landlord would make a major move into the city. This development would be on a much smaller scale than others that have been proposed for the site.
In the 1980s, Houston developer Gerald Hines planned to develop a small city on a platform over the rail yard. And there was talk of building a new Phillies ballpark there. Jerry Sweeney, chief executive officer of Brandywine, based in Newtown Square, said his company was taking a more sensible approach. "We're starting with something that will fit into a much larger whole that can be developed later, rather than starting with a large whole and trying to figure out where to start," he said.
While the building would tower over its University City neighborhood, at 450 feet it would fit well below William Penn's hat atop City Hall, the 510-foot traditional height limit here until the 1980s.
Brandywine has two years to begin construction on the property, which it would lease from Amtrak for 99 years, Sweeney said. He would not disclose the terms of the deal. While Brandywine has not signed a lead tenant for the building, Sweeney expressed confidence that his company could line up enough tenants to justify beginning construction next year.
This would put the building, to be called Cira Centre, in the competition for major Center City tenants such as Comcast Corp., now in Centre Square, and Cigna Corp., now in Two Liberty Place. Both have major leases expiring in 2006. The building would replace the western third of the parking deck on Arch Street on the north side of the station.
A new covered walkway would link the building to the foyer that serves SEPTA's commuter trains. Amtrak also has signed an agreement with Berwind Property Group, of Philadelphia, to build a 1,500-car parking garage next to the new building. The balance of the existing parking deck would be refurbished as a landscaped entrance plaza, with some parking, for the new building and parking garage. Occupants of the building could catch a train to Washington, New York City, Boston or Harrisburg - or to Center City, the suburbs and airport - without going outdoors.
Cira is the second new building being planned for Center City. Liberty Property Trust, of Malvern, plans to start construction in August on a 52-story, 1.2-million-square-foot tower, called One Pennsylvania Plaza, next to Suburban Station on John F. Kennedy Boulevard at 17th Street. Sweeney said there was room for both new buildings. "They will add only 5 percent to the Center City market," he said.
Both buildings are designed by deans of the Yale University School of Architecture. Pelli, a native of Argentina, served in that role from 1977 to 1984. Robert A.M. Stern, architect on One Pennsylvania Plaza, has been dean since 1998.
The Brandywine project is part of a nationwide Amtrak effort to earn revenue from its real estate, with an emphasis on projects that increase ridership. The 30th Street Station site is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, a development-promoting program launched by Gov. Tom Ridge.
This allows tenants to avoid paying several city and state taxes through 2013. The program's benefits also mean that Brandywine can charge rental rates of about $35 per square foot annually, "which is competitive with the stay-put cost" prospective tenants face in renewing leases, Sweeney said.
Like rival One Pennsylvania Place, Cira Centre will have many safety features developed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fire escape stairways will be wider, outside air vents will be able to be closed quickly, parking beneath the building will be secured, and fire sprinkler systems will be more robust, Sweeney said.
With its imposing presence at the western edge of the Center City skyline, and high visibility from the Schuylkill Expressway, the building will appeal to "tenants who want to make a statement," Sweeney said. He said it would also appeal - with its location on an interstate highway and both regional and inter-city rail lines - to those who need access to the widest array of employees.
The building will also be on the transit loop that serves the nearby University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. Brandywine, whose stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, owns 301 office and industrial properties, with a total of 20.4 million square feet, virtually all of them in the Philadelphia suburbs.
The company is moving its headquarters this month from Newtown Square to Plymouth Meeting. With 1,300 companies already leasing space in its buildings and a 25 percent of the region's office market, "we have tremendous access to the deal flow," Sweeney said. "We're confident that the region needs this high-level addition... that the market will support delivering this building at a profit for our shareholders."