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Originally Posted by Patrick
I never understood the hype behind the American Commerce Center. In my opinion, the design was super bland and screamed generic 2010's supertall, plus it's lower section was a total disaster. I can think of many buildings built in the last two decades that are similar in appearance to the ACC, unlike Comcast Two which stands out on it's own and isn't just another glass box with it's edges wedged off. Sure the ACC would have been taller but Comcast Two is much more iconic and innovative with it's massing and materials that give it so much more personality. In time I'm sure it'll become synonymous with Philadelphia and it's shape will appear in numerous Philadelphia souvenirs. Overall I think Philly got the better of two options!
Curbed Philadelphia: https://philly.curbed.com/2014/1/21/...ommerce-center
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The main point of the ACC was to attract a major company to Center City such as TD Bank, GSK, BlackRock, Sunoco, and even GE if the developer had some insight to even attract the state gov’t as a major co-tenant as well. It had nothing to do with the design, it’s height, or even the economy at the time, since the ACC already had privately dedicated funding, the only thing that contributed to the ACC’s demise was the city and state govt’s reluctance to support the tower (remember Vince Fumo) and NIMBYS.
It wasn’t just another super tall, the ACC was the potential to attract another major company to Philadelphia. We can’t rely on the success of Comcast for so long, especially since AT&T purchased TimeWarner and being a cable company isn’t going to cut it in the upcoming 2020’s! It’s just another missed opportunity of not just getting a magnificent tower, but another major company, and I’m not too confident of Amazon coming to the city, neither.