12 November 08: Foliage interlude . . .
what's up with American Commerce Center

Garrett Miller is undeterred by the staggering economy. The new president of Hill International Real Estate Partners, who is now overseeing the development of his brainchild American Commerce Center, has a background in finance and says, matter-of-factly, "the development cycle is long for a building of this size -- 6 to 8 years, sometimes." Knowing what we know in Philadelphia, it's true that from concept to ribbon-cutting, Comcast Center took nearly eight years. If history is any indicator, an economic downturn -- even the worst one since the Great Depression -- should be no reason to stop building for the future. While home construction has bottomed out and the supply is over-saturated (take a look at the vacancy of exurban developments in places like Chester County and Saratoga Springs, NY), large scale office construction often spurs development in slower times. The Great Depression itself spurred some of the most famous development in American history: the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, PSFS Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, and perhaps most famously documented in the photo at right by Charles Ebbets (now owned by Corbis), Rockefeller Center. Since its announcement in March, ACC has already evolved to include more public space, a LEED gold certification (having already been registered with the US Green Building Council), a connection to the Suburban Station concourse which currently terminates at Comcast Center, and a much-hoped-for observation deck. Where Miller and his Hill partners are counting on an eventual economic rebound, they're counting more on landing a lead tenant. They won't mention any names, but Natalie Kostelni suggested last month in the PBJ that GlaxoSmithKline is a consideration. Then again, a month after her story, the PBJ also reported that Glaxo will be dropping Philadelphia as its US headquarters, instead focusing its efforts in the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Another rumor floating on the business market has Comcast wanting to expand beyond what Liberty Property's phase two at 18th & JFK would afford. Of course this is only the office tower part of the project. Miller says that the shorter portion (which is in no way short) has a number of prospective tenants lined up, too, again without naming names. Rumored retail brands have included the likes of Crate & Barrel, Equinox and -- new to us -- Bloomingdale's, in a Center City whose only notable department store these days is a Macy's occupying the Wanamaker Building. The hotel brand rumors find a Fairmont more likely within ACC's caliber than, say, another Starwood hotel. "We have time to work out these deals," Miller says confidently. "Right now, we're more concerned with moving forward in the zoning process and working to obtain the support from the community." That process will at long last take another giant step next Tuesday the 18th as the key item on the Philadelphia City Planning Commission's November agenda. As usual, the meeting is scheduled for 1pm at the 18th floor conference room of 1515 Arch Street, but as attendance could be very high, location is subject to change. Philly Skyline will note any changes in the plan. This will be a benchmark day in the progress of American Commerce Center, a building that will not only change the skyline, but which stands the chance of further shifting Philadelphia's civic outlook toward the positive. It's green, it's tall, it ushers in new business and new clients, and above all else, it indicates jobs -- temporary ones for a couple years' worth of construction and permanent ones filling its well lit floors. On top of all of that (literally, on top of all of that), a new observation deck might finally grace Philadelphia with a new view. The opponents of ACC, largely from the Kennedy House, will be in attendance in en masse. They'll say that ACC is "out of scale" for its "urban village", despite the fact that Kennedy House is also a highrise, and despite the fact that their very own building addresses their "urban village" with a six story parking podium and a steakhouse whose front door is at the JFK Speedway that leads to the Schuylkill Expressway. ACC, on the other hand, in spite of the height reserved for highrise districts -- in the very middle of which it sits -- addresses the "urban village" with multiple pedestrian entrances to the building, a bicycle parking garage, and a plaza café along 18th Street. Oh -- and it's worth pointing out that ACC's opposition is largely funded by the state senator federally indicted on 139 counts, whose trial is ongoing as we speak, and whose opposing testimony has come from a confidant who made illegal money from him, a private investigator who snooped on his exes and then-gubernatorial-candidate Ed Rendell, and even his own son-in-law. Yes, Vince Fumo -- the Democratic state senator who called Republican state senator Bob Jubelirer a "faggot" on the Senate floor in Harrisburg -- opposes the construction of a newer, taller skyscraper in the skyscraper district of Philadelphia. But enough about Senator Fumo and the opposition he's funding, probably with your money and mine. He's going to be occupied come the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday anyway. Support for American Commerce Center is centered even closer to the would-be skyscraper than the embittered elderlies at the Kennedy House. Mark Flood and Chris Paliani live directly across the street at 19th & Arch and started Logan Square Neighbors for American Commerce Center -- LSN4ACC -- and as their web site states, they're more interested in supporting a significant project for the entire region than in preserving a surface parking lot. If you agree with them and you support American Commerce Center and the statement it makes -- to growth, to sustainability, to Philadelphian pride -- come to 1515 Arch, 18th floor, on Tuesday. The meeting's at 1, so show up early. –B Love American Commerce Center images used with permission from Hill International Real Estate Partners and Kohn Pederson Fox. 'Lunchtime atop a skyscraper' image by Charles Ebbets, copyright owned by Corbis.