PHILADELPHIA | American Commerce Center | 1,510' Pinnacle / 1,210' Roof | 63 FLOORS

[apetrella802]

when i first say phillyskyline yesterday i posted a new "gentlemen's agreement", i.e., NO BUILDINGS SHORTER THAN CITY HALL" but now i think it should be NO BUILDINGS SHORTER THAN THE COMCAST CENTER!

Since this building's model shows a somewhat complex and asymmetrical design i hope our architectural reporter takes some time to understand it before commenting on it. Back in nov 2004 i saw the CC model in the LPT office at 17th and JFK across from the Corner Bakery. The model was regal and majestic but almost all the illustrations depicted a bloated top heavey look. The model was right , the illustrations were wrong.

i think most people have a little problem with the hotel section that seems to look a little awkwared and arbitrary but we'll see what happens. Of course i feel like this is so wonderful that any criticism is unessesary and it will take time to have it all sink in. The American Commerce Center website does scan the image from a number of different angles, which is what an observer will have to do after its built. It needs to be seen like a piece of sculpture somewhat like the CIRA center since it doen't have just four elevations, i.e., NSEW.

[Swinefeld]

Leave to Philebrity to post something this silly...

Comcast Sex Toy About To Be Bested By 89 Story American Commerce “French Tickler”

Jesus H. Christ, just get a look at that thing, will ya? It’s the model for the American Commerce Center, to be at 1800 Arch St. And make no mistake: For at least five minutes after it’s built — ACC breaks ground in summer ‘09 — it will, without a doubt be the tallest building in the city. And unlike the blunt force of the Comcast Sex Toy, this one seems to have her pleasure in mind: It’s stylish, opens out on to the street with a hotel lobby, and is way green. LEED Gold-green, in fact. Says Bradley Maule, who just broke this wide open:

It’s very early in the process. […] But to weigh the siting, the favorable pedestrian experience, and the choice of an acclaimed (read: expensive) architect is to understand that American Commerce Center is a very serious proposal, a very serious statement about Philadelphia’s sense of place.

Way more details at Brad’s site. But for now, let us just say: Like whoa.

PhillySkyline: Suck It, Comcast!

[fastdupree]

Holly crap! Where the heck was I when this news came about. I am very happy to hear about this monster. Love it or hate it, this is great news for philly. Once it's built, I won't have to go to NY city anymore just to get my skyscraper fix. We should 100% build this thing.

[jrdizzy]

I like the spire too. Kind of blends in with Lib 1 and 2, and Mellon. As a rule I like flat roofs better on skyscrapers, but I wish CC was designed a little similar the the other big four.

The Acc's resemblence to the origional freedom tower reminds me of how the freedom tower"s present design is a little like an earlier CC design.

[Phil_North]

WOW! Now this building will definitely block my view of Unversity City while I'm at work, but this project is awesome! What I love most about it is that it gives Philadelphia a true signature building. Liberty One was that building for 15 plus years. As much as I like the Comcast Center and just love working in it, it doesn't stand out like a true signature building should. ACC looks like that building! I really hope this gets built. An observation deck would also be a very nice touch should they decide to put one there.

[Jularc]

The Philadelphia skyline keeps growing up! I really want to see more renderings.

[TheOldMan]

Originally Posted by jrdizzy

I like the spire too. Kind of blends in with Lib 1 and 2, and Mellon. As a rule I like flat roofs better on skyscrapers, but I wish CC was designed a little similar the the other big four.

The Acc's resemblence to the origional freedom tower reminds me of how the freedom tower"s present design is a little like an earlier CC design.

i completely agree. a mild pyramidal cap would be perfect. nothing like Mellon Center or Liberty Place, but subtle; much like the original sandstone-banded design.

[Chazly7]

Good lord....

I know I have only posted a few times, and it's been a while since I have posted as well, but I still check in almost everyday. I missed out for two days, and come back to this. I am very pleased.

I like the design. I have to admit that I was unsure of the base (hotel?) area, at first. But it is starting to grow on me. This is a long way from hoping Comcast was 25 foot taller. It's also great to see another surface lot (hopefully) bite the dust. There is so much going on in the city, as well as in the near future....... I love it all.


PS: It is about time we break the 1,000 foot barrier. Breaking that barrier might be in the same veign as building above Billy Penns hat. Maybe a few more supertalls will follow suit, sort of like how many of our current talls followed 1LP.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Don098

I wonder if Comcast is going to have some offices in this new building...it looks like the plot they own to build the second tower is being filled in with a fountain (see Phillyskyline.com) which is more permanent than the grass originally proposed. They might have known about this project since its inception and snuck in there. That's complete utter speculation...no truth to that whatsoever. Just me guessing, so if that's the case maybe their egos won't be as crushed.

Good point...why build a second smaller building as was proposed when you can occupy the two biggest towers in town.

[Plokoon11]

AHHHHHH! HOLY! MY EYES! Bye bye comcast center, time to move on with this big thing. So lets see, if this monster gets built, Atlanta, LA, NYC, and chicago might be surpassed? AND, for a short while our city will have the tallest building in USA?

[Philly-Drew]

Wow. What a great thing to find. Thank you Brad for posting it!

I like the hotel portion of this very early rendering and I like the way it opens up from so many angles as shown on the website. In my opinion the commanding height of the hotel is perfect for that area as it almost lends itself to the skyline as another building. I think that it looks a lot better than how Lib2 sticks out on one side (overall I think Lib2 is a great building).

I also like the spire and I wonder about the thickness of the spire. Can anyone estimate the thickness of the spire from the bottom, to the middle to the tip? I wonder about it because HOW HOT WOULD IT BE IF THERE WAS AN ELEVATOR TAKING YOU UP TO AN OBSERVATION AREA IN THE BASE OF THE SPIRE?

WOW. Uhh.. ahh.. oh… ok.. Wow.. That felt good. Sorry.

Anyhow, I can’t help but to wonder what the percentage is that this tower gets built. I think the real questions that need to be answered are:
1) How likely is it that an anchor tenant can be found?
2) Does anyone have any ideas as to which big companies may be coming up on the end of their lease and would consider the move to this city and to this building?

I wonder what companies might make a good suitor for this building. If a lead tenant can be signed up then I would think that the likelihood of this building getting built is extremely high. If not, then the odds that it is would be built are much lower. At least the financing is already secured. Many times financing is the biggest hurdle with ambitious projects.

[liat91]

Loose the spire, it then would really look awesome and
still be what? 1200'

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by apetrella802

Since this building's model shows a somewhat complex and asymmetrical design i hope our architectural reporter takes some time to understand it before commenting on it.

my prediction about what inga will say about it:
1-she will love the fact that it is built on the site of what is now and has for a long time been a surface parking lot
2- she will love the fact that all parking is underground
3- she will hold the developer's feet to the fire to make sure it is as engaging at street level as they claim it will be, with all the retail and plaza amenities
4- she will hate the design of the hotel, saying it is a slapped-on after-thought
5- she will hate the fact that it will be taller than any building in new york except the freedom tower but will hide this hatred by citing the delicate. gossamer quality of our quaint quaker city and the softness of the real estate market as being unfit for such a development, especially with other major projects on the drawing boards.
6- she will call upon the zoning board to not lift its FAR restriction on this site so that it won't shroud the entire neighborhood in shadow. there are three major skyscrapers in that immediate neighborhood (comcast, mellon, and bell atlantic), so adding another will just contribute to the darkening at street level.
7- she will pay lip service to the LEED certification as at least economically if not environmentally responsible.
8- she will demand a thorough master plan that this is integrated into, and will defer all major design decisions to whatever neighborhood group claims is in charge of the neighborhood.

I agree with the above points, except for #5, 6 and 8. but those are the type of things she has said about other projects, and are the reason I can't stand her. I am not against having a master plan, but surrendering sovereignty to neighborhood groups is nonsense. they can have some input, but they should not get final say because they are not design professionals.

[BuildItUp]

I love this building, please don't spoil this forum by inviting INGA to this discussion. She is totally irrelevant and has nothing to do with this. Thank you.

[Austinlee]

First supertall proposal for the state of Pennsylvania! Who would've guessed it would happen in the states second city instead of Pittsburgh? not me.

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by BuildItUp

I love this building, please don't spoil this forum by inviting INGA to this discussion. She is totally irrelevant and has nothing to do with this. Thank you.

agreed that she is irrelavent, but you know at some point she is going to try to make herself relevant, so I was just trying to beat her to the punch and save her the trouble of chiming in.

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by PA Pride

First supertall proposal for the state of Pennsylvania! Who would've guessed it would happen in the states second city instead of Pittsburgh? not me.

nice try.

[bluemartini]

Is it just me, or does the spire look like it is giving the middle finger to NYC?

[williamphilapa]

Awesome news... a 1500 ft tower proposal on my birthday

We need a bunch of forumers to do renderings now from every angle of the city...we have over a year to wait.

As far as the design, I dig it.

Weird how it is so close to Comcast and both would/will have so much silver glass.

I wish we would see some green or red tinted glass.
Red would be cooler on a smaller tower..around 500-600 footer. I have a feeling others do not share the same opinion though

[volguus zildrohar]

It seems as if Philadelphia kinda vaults ahead when it comes to building highrises. For decades this city sat with a "crew cut", flat-topped skyline. Then over the course of 7 years, the skyline transformed into a forest of peaks and points. Another decade of so and buildings sprout higher and farther from the center than they had before. Making up for lost time in a way?

Comcast Center certainly helps give me a sense of the scale of this mammoth project. Center City has very few big, wide streets and generally the biggest buildings in town all line up along some wide thoroughfare. Comcast Center essentially does not and ACC certainly won't. This generally quiet stretch of Arch Street, close and yet so far from the traditional heart of Center City, is now the epicenter of the most ambitious works to come downtown...ever.