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User:GhostRiver/cira

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The Cira Centre is located at 2929 Arch Street, in the University City district of Philadelphia.[1] It is bound by Arch Street to the south and the Schuylkill Expressway to the north and east.[2] The land lot occupies 29,633 square feet (2,753.0 m2), with a frontage of 193 feet (59 m) on Arch Street.[2] Directly south of the Cira Centre, across Arch Street, is 30th Street Station,[2] and the two structures are linked by a pedestrian bridge that runs from the nine-story Amtrak parking garage through Cira Centre to the rail concourse.[3] The site was designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone, allowing both property owners and business tenants to receive large tax breaks for occupying the property.[4]

Out of concerns that pedestrians in the area would be hit by cars coming around Arch Street, the sidewalks around the Cira Centre were shortened in order to discourage walking.

Design

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The building stands 450 feet (140 m) at its apex, taller than many surrounding buildings in the University City neighborhood but still below the 510 feet (160 m) limit unofficially set by the William Penn statue above Philadelphia City Hall.[5]

Pelli designed the tower not to clash with the neoclassical architectural style of 30th Street Station.[6] Instead, he wanted to contrast the earth-toned train station, built by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, with a light-colored skyscraper designed to fade into the sky.[7]

Steel for the project was provided by the Canam Manac Group, a Quebecois corporation.[8]

History

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Construction

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On May 8, 2002, Brandywine Realty Trust presented plans to the City of Philadelphia for a 32-story office building that would replace the western third of the 30th Street Station parking lot on Arch Street. The building, to be designed by architect Cesar Pelli, was set for completion in 2005, which made it a convenient property to rent for corporations like Comcast and Cigna, both of whom had lease agreements expiring in 2006.[5] The next day, Amtrak, who owned the property upon which Brandywine intended to build, agreed to lease the land to the trust for a period of 99 years.[6] In February 2003, Amtrak began work on a 1,525-car parking garage to replace the part of the parking deck that was ceded to Brandywine for the Cira Centre. The garage, developed by Berwind Property Group Inc., was meant to provide parking both for Amtrak customers at 30th Street Station and for employees at the Cira Centre when it opened on May 1, 2004.[9] Construction on the Cira Centre itself, however, could not begin until it had found initial tenants. In December 2003, the law firms of Dechert LLP and Woodcock Washburn LLP, as well as the investment management firm Attalus Capital, all signed leases for the space.[10][11]

With tenants secured, the Cira Centre could proceed with construction, and the Dallas-based Turner Construction company was awarded a $116 million contract in February 2004 to build the tower.[12] Construction began on the Cira Centre by the end of the month.[13] In March, the Swedish paper products manufacturer SCA signed a long-term lease of 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) for the Cira Centre, which would move its North American headquarters to Philadelphia from Eddystone, Pennsylvania.[14] Although construction was not set for completion until the end of 2005,[15] the building underwent its topping-out ceremony on November 17, 2004, when a white-painted steel beam was hoisted to the highest point on what would become the office building.[16] On April 27, the law firm of Reger, Rizzo, Kavulich & Darnall LLP, then headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, announced that it was leasing 27,600 square feet (2,560 m2) of space in the Cira Centre, bringing the building to 87 percent occupancy.[17] This was raised to 91 percent occupancy on May 25, when Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds and Brandywine Asset Management, the latter unaffiliated with Brandywine Realty Trust, leased 58,000 square feet (5,400 m2) and 54,755 square feet (5,086.9 m2), respectively.[18]

The glass skin that completely encircles the Cira Centre was fully put in place by July 27, 2005.[19] On August 6, shortly after Philadelphia magazine awarded the Cira Centre "Best Work-in-Progress", the building reported that a pipe had burst over the weekend and had continued to flow until workers returned on Monday, causing millions of dollars in water damage.[20]

Early use

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Shift to life sciences focus

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Tenants

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  • Reger, Rizzo, Kavulich & Darnall
  • LLR Partners
  • Cabaletta Bio
  • BlackRock
  • Convene 29th & Arch
  • CBRE Global Investors
  • FD Fund Administration
  • Regus
  • McKinsey & Company
  • SCA America

Holland & Knight signed a one-year, 27,000 square feet (2,500 m2) lease on the eighth floor of the Cira Centre in July 2018, after which they extended their contract for another three years and began occupying half of the seventh floor.[21]

Dechert LLP had originally maintained over 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2) of office space across seven floors of the Cira Centre, but on April 22, 2021, they returned three floors and now occupy 109,000 square feet (10,100 m2) across four floors in the upper section of the skyscraper.[22]

Reception

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References

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  1. ^ "Cira Centre". Brandywine Realty Trust. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "2929 Arch St, 883062400". Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (September 28, 2005). "Pedestrian bridge for 30th St. Station parking opens". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C3. Retrieved December 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Smith, Ramona (January 22, 2004). "Windfall seen for wealthy in new 'opportunity zones'". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ a b Holcomb, Henry J. (May 8, 2002). "32-Story Office Tower Planned for City". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A1, A12. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ a b Bergstrom, Bill (May 9, 2002). "Amtrak plans office tower". York Daily Record. Associated Press. p. 3E. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ Saffron, Inga (May 10, 2002). "Glass tower risks becoming an ivory one". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E1. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ "Canam unit wins $18-million deal". Montreal Gazette. January 29, 2004. p. B5. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (February 7, 2003). "Easing parking-space shortage". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C3. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ Gelbart, Marcia (December 25, 2003). "Cira Centre's plan advances as three firms sign leases". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (May 1, 2004). "Amtrak garage ready for business – at last". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. C1. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ "Turner to build Philadelphia office building". Dallas Business Journal. February 24, 2004. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  13. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (February 27, 2004). "On a clear day, views of towers still hazy". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  14. ^ "Swedish paper-product-maker signs Cira Centre lease". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 10, 2004. p. C3. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  15. ^ "Celebrating the Cira Centre". Philadelphia Daily News. November 17, 2004. p. 12. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  16. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (November 17, 2004). "An old tradition celebrates the city's evolving Cira Centre". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  17. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (April 27, 2005). "Reger, Rizzo law firm leases space in Cira Centre". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C3. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  18. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (May 25, 2005). "Two signings make Cira Centre more than 91% leased". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C3. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  19. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (July 27, 2005). "Cira Centre's glass skin is now in place". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E6. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  20. ^ Gross, Dan (August 6, 2005). "Burst pipe damages Cira Centre". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  21. ^ Blumenthal, Jeff (May 25, 2021). "Fast-growing Holland & Knight's Philadelphia office could be test case for future real estate needs". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  22. ^ Kostelni, Natalie (April 22, 2021). "Dechert signs short-term lease renewal at Cira Centre, reduces space by more than half". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
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