When it's finished, the new tallest building in Philadelphia will be something like the second child outdoing the first. In 2007, when the 57-story 957-foot Comcast Center was completed, it was like the communications giant announcing its arrival as a dominating media lord. A huge building befit a huge company, so to speak. But in the last month or so, work has begun on the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, a $1.2B 59-story 1,121 ft (interesting number, eh?) at 18th & Arch. The building will neighbor the Comcast Center and reach out with a needle-like top that is similar to the Freedom Tower, the new World Trade Center in New York, as if poking the heavens and asking to bring good fortune to Philadelphia.

Workers on the site

The building, developed by Liberty Trust and designed by Foster + Partners, is expected to be the largest building in the U.S. outside of New York and Chicago, according to a press release. When we stopped by recently, the early parts of construction were underway with tractors busy moving lumber and preparing to add to the changing face of the Philadelphia skyline. The building will host a Four Seasons hotel and also be home to NBC10, Telemundo, and others. In addition to affecting the aesthetic of the city with its glass structure, the building, with elements like a rooftop restaurant with a deafening view of the city, is expected to create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars of economic activity. It shows there is more than a little interest in investing in Philadelphia.

The building to come

In Center City, several new buildings are under construction while others are still in the planning phase. At 1900 Arch, Precision Realty is getting closer to the finish line with their 14-story apartment building.  At 1919 Market, Brandywine Realty Trust has been tweaking designs and specifics on their plans for what is now a 28-story 278 unit building. And there are plenty of others. Now that construction at the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center is underway, we're hoping some of these other projects will lace up their shoes, as it were. Until then, we'll keep checking in here over the coming months and years, as Philly's newest trophy building rises up toward the heavens.