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Commerce Square

Coordinates: 39°57′15″N 75°10′27″W / 39.9541°N 75.1741°W / 39.9541; -75.1741
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Commerce Square
A high, stair-shaped building against a blue sky, with other, similar buildings around it.
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
Location2001 and 2005 West Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates39°57′15″N 75°10′27″W / 39.9541°N 75.1741°W / 39.9541; -75.1741
Opening1987 / 1992
Cost$ 300 million
OwnerPhiladelphia Plaza Associates
Height
Roof565 feet (172 m)
Technical details
Floor count41[nb 1]
Floor area2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)IM Pei & Partners
DeveloperMaguire Thomas Partners
IBM
EngineerCBM Engineers Inc.

Commerce Square is a high-rise office building complex in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Commerce Square consists of One and Two Commerce Square, two identical 41-story, 565 feet (172 m) office towers that surround a 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) paved courtyard. Architecturally, the granite towers feature setbacks on the north and south sides of the building and are topped with a pair of stone diamonds with cutout squares in the center. The towers were built as part an office building boom Philadelphia was experiencing on West Market Street in the late 1980s. Designed by IM Pei & Partners, now called Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the towers were developed in a joint venture between Maguire Thomas Partners and IBM. IBM also leased more than half of One Commerce Square to be the company's Mid-Atlantic headquarters. Construction of the first phase, which included One Commerce Square, the plaza and retail space, began in 1985 and was finished in 1987. The second phase of the project, Two Commerce Square, did not begin until a lead tenant was secured for the building in 1990. Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) agreed to be Two Commerce Square's lead tenant and make the skyscraper its corporate headquarters after a two year search for office space in and around the city. Two Commerce Square officially ended the skyscraper construction boom of the 1980s when it was completed in 1992. No other office skyscraper was built in Philadelphia until the Cira Centre in 2005.

In the 1990s Commerce Square's lead tenants shrunk their presence dramatically in the towers. IBM moved some of its operations outside Philadelphia in the early 1990s and Conrail was bought by Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation later in the decade. Almost all of Conrail's operations were moved out of Philadelphia by the 2000s. The complex was praised mainly for its design of two towers surrounding a plaza. Renowned Philadelphia urban planner Edmund N. Bacon praised Commerce Square and its plaza by saying it "will prove to be one of the finest commercial projects to be built in this century." The New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger described Commerce Square as "discreet" and the standing diamond shapes on top as "strange."

History

Commerce Square was part of an office building boom that took place in the late 1980s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the boom numerous skyscrapers were constructed in the West Market Street neighborhood of Center City.[3] The $US300 million development of Commerce Square was led by Robert F. Maguire III, co-managing partner of Maguire Thomas Partners of Los Angeles. To get his project moving, Maguire had the architectural firm IM Pei & Partners, now called Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, design the complex. Using a design by a leading architectural firm as incentive, Maguire approached IBM, a company he had past associations with. By early November 1984, after negotiations with Maguire, IBM agreed to be a joint partner in the development. IBM also agreed to serve as the lead tenant for One Commerce Square, making about half the building its headquarters for the Mid-Atlantic region. Commerce Square would be split between two buildings, One Commerce Square being built first, and the second tower, Two Commerce Square, being built later once a lead tenant was secured. Plans for Commerce Square were officially announced on November 16, 1984 at a press conference held by Maguire and IBM at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. The first phase of the project included One Commerce Square, retail and restaurant space, a plaza, and an underground parking garage. Construction began with the first phase on June 10, 1985.[4][5][6] One Commerce Square was topped off with a ceremony on June 6, 1986,[7] and the skyscraper officially opened on October 23, 1987.[8]

In 1987 the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) indicated it wanted to consolidate its offices spread out across Philadelphia into one office building. In May 1988, Conrail started seeking proposals from developers for a building to house its corporate headquarters.[9] On March 30, 1990, after being sought after by numerous developers in Philadelphia and its suburbs, Conrail announced that it would be leasing 27 floors of Two Commerce Square.[10] With a lead tenant, construction of the identical tower was able to start in July 1990.[11] Two Commerce Square was completed in July 1992 and Conrail began moving in approximately 3,000 employees in September of that year.[1][12] Two Commerce Square ended the skyscraper boom of the 1980s, being the last office skyscraper to be built in Philadelphia until the Cira Centre in 2005.[13]

After the office building boom of the 1980s, the 1990s saw an office glut resulting in numerous vacancies and lower leasing rates throughout Center City. In 1993 IBM was struggling financially. The company was shrinking its workforce and consolidating its operations nationwide, and its plans included moving some of its employees out of the city. IBM started with occupying nearly half of One Commerce Square, but by 1993 it was using only one-fifth of the building.[14][15] In 1996, Maguire Thomas Partners split up, leaving the ownership of Commerce Square to Thomas Properties Group Inc alone. After the split, Thomas Properties renegotiated mortgage financing of the Commerce Square towers. Thomas Properties Group successfully renegotiated the debt for Two Commerce Square with Bank of America, but was unable to renegotiate the debt with One Commerce Square's prime mortgage holder, Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corporation. To move past the deadlock, Philadelphia Plaza Associates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Thomas Properties Group is the parent company of Philadelphia Plaza Associates which owns Commerce Square.[16]

Philadelphia Plaza Associates emerged out of bankruptcy reorganization early in 1998, but the company still had to worry about filling the space that was going to be vacated by Conrail. In October 1996 Conrail was bought by Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation. The merger was completed in May 1998 and the former Conrail offices and employees began to be moved out of the building. In the merger deal, CSX Transportation absorbed Conrail's 15 year lease. CSX was responsible for paying the lease, but the 728,000 square feet (67,600 m2) of space was subleased, offsetting the cost. Between 1999 and 2000, as Conrail offices were phased out of Two Commerce Square, Thomas Properties filled the newly vacated space with new tenants.[17][18]

Architecture

Located on West Market Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Commerce Square comprises two twin 41-story[nb 1] 565 feet (172 m) office towers designed by Henry N. Cobb and Douglas Gardner of IM Pei & Partners. Commerce Square covers an entire block, between 20th and 21st Streets and Market Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard.[1][19][20] Commerce Square contains 2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m2), which includes 1,850,000 square feet (170,000 m2) of office space, 92,000 square feet (8,500 m2) lobby, and a 175,000 square feet (16,000 m2), 625 car parking garage. The pale gray granite skyscrapers feature setbacks on the north and south sides of the building, with the bottom floors containing 33,000 square feet (3,100 m2) and the upper floors 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2).[1] The floors feature a large amount of floor space, a design influenced by IBM needs in the 1980s.[21] The two towers are topped with a pair of standing stone diamonds with cutout squares in the center.[22]

The two towers are separated by a 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) paved courtyard.[1] Tables and chairs are placed around a large pink granite circular fountain in the center of the plaza.[8][23] The plaza was designed by Laurie Olin of Hanna/Olin Ltd.[1][24] Impressed by Commerce Square's plaza, Philadelphia's city planning commission included influences from the complex in a new building code governing open-space.[25]

Reception

Commerce Square was praised for its design of two towers surrounding a plaza. The Philadelphia Inquirer said "Its most positive aspect is that it avoids the developers' cliches of atriums and shopping malls and makes a real urban place. It expresses great confidence in Philadelphia, and even more important, in the whole idea of living in cities."[26] Renowned Philadelphia urban planner Edmund N. Bacon praised Commerce Square and its plaza by saying "[Olin'] sensitivity for urban design is beautifully demonstrated by his design for the lobby level, including the splendid garden, of Commerce Square at 20th and Market streets, which I think will prove to be one of the finest commercial projects to be built in this century."[24] The New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger described Commerce Square as "discreet" and "almost too well mannered." Goldberger felt the diamonds with the cutouts on the top of the towers were strange, saying "They look like diamond-shaped ears, or perhaps handles."[22]

Tenants

One Commerce Square's main tenant is IBM which moved into the skyscraper when it opened in 1987. IBM started with occupying nearly half of One Commerce Square, but in the decades since, consolidation shrunk the company's presence in the building.[14] Other tenants in One Commerce Square include Stevens & Young LLP, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Fiserv Securities Inc., Thorp Reed & Armstrong LLP and Delaware Investments which also leases office space in Two Commerce Square.[27][28][29]

When Two Commerce Square opened in 1992 the Consolidated Rail Corporation made 728,000 square feet (68,000 m2) of the tower its corporate headquarters. Since being bought by Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation, Conrail and CSX now share around 5,000 square feet (460 m2) in the tower. Today Two Commerce Square has become a center of accounting and consulting firms. The largest is accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers which occupies 215,000 square feet (20,000 m2). Occupying the tower since it opened in 1992, professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP leases 115,000 square feet (11,000 m2) of the tower. Other related firms include Delaware Investments which leases 125,000 square feet (12,000 m2) and Grant Thornton LLP. Other tenants also fill the tower, these include Leaf Financial Corporation, which leases the 14th and 15th floors, Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co. which leases 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) and engineering firm McCormick Taylor which leases 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2).[18][30] In 2010 Wolters Kluwer moved into 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) on the third and fourth floors. With the multimedia company's move into the tower, Two Commerce Square's occupancy reached 91 percent.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ a b The towers are described as having 41 floors by Thomas Properties and most other sources. Only the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website say the towers have 40 floors.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Commerce Square". Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Commerce Square". Thomas Properties Group. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Wallace, David J. (December 22, 1991). "Philadelphia; Biggest Lease Of '91 Signed". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "The Leader in the Great Office Race". The Philadelphia Inquirer: J01. March 31, 1985. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "IBM and Developer Unveil Plan for Market St. Complex". The Philadelphia Inquirer: D08. November 17, 1984. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "IBM to Start on Phila.'s Twin Towers". The Philadelphia Inquirer: K01. June 9, 1985. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Philadelphia's Newest Tower as Owners Woo Tenants, Skyscraper is Topped Off". The Philadelphia Inquirer: D11. June 6, 1986. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b "Party to Hail Opening of Commerce Square". The Philadelphia Inquirer: C09. October 23, 1987. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Conrail Seeking New Home Phila., Suburbs Are Considered". The Philadelphia Inquirer: C01. May 26, 1988. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  10. ^ "Center City Site Selected by Conrail". The Philadelphia Inquirer: B05. March 31, 1990. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  11. ^ "Raising Twins in Center City Phila. Has Plenty of Pairs of Office Towers. But Why? And to What Effect?". The Philadelphia Inquirer: I01. July 22, 1990. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  12. ^ "Conrail begins headquarters move. (3000 employees will relocate within Philadelphia to 28-floor building)". Railway Age. September 1, 1992. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (July 25, 2005). "Cira Centre's glass skin is now in place". The Philadelphia Inquirer: E06. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  14. ^ a b Turner, David I. (July 23, 1993). "Office Vacancies at All-Time High in Philadelphia's Center City". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "IBM Workforce Here to Shrink by 15 Pct. the Computer Firm is Reorganizing Customer Service". The Philadelphia Inquirer: C01. May 19, 1993. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Walsh, Thomas J. (July 25, 1997). "Chapter 11 for One Commerce". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Walsh, Thomas J. (May 8, 1998). "Commerce Square area development planned". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  18. ^ a b Kostelni, Natalie (September 8, 2006). "Unforeseen circumstances tell the tale of Conrail's lease". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  19. ^ "One Commerce Square". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  20. ^ "Two Commerce Square". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  21. ^ "The Legacy of a Broken Agreement". The Philadelphia Inquirer: N01. May 8, 1994. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  22. ^ a b Goldberger, Paul (June 24, 1990). "Architecture View; Philadelphia Carves Out a New Skyline". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  23. ^ McClelland, Jim (2005). Fountains of Philadelphia. Stackpole Books. pp. Pages 33. ISBN 9780811731911.
  24. ^ a b Bacon, Edmund N. (July 25, 1997). "A new light on Independence Mall". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  25. ^ Lawrence, John F. (October 9, 1989). "Nice Profits From Better City Life". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  26. ^ "An Imaginative Design Makes a Statement About Public Space". The Philadelphia Inquirer: B01. December 2, 1984. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  27. ^ Roberts, Joshua (December 22, 2000). "Center City Office Buildings". Philadelphia Business Journal. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  28. ^ "Thorp Reed & Armstrong's Two Philadelphia Offices Move to Common Location" (Press release). June 4, 2009. {{cite press release}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  29. ^ Stone, Adam (October 10, 2008). "Best Office Lease/Urban". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-11. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  30. ^ Holcomb, Henry J. (November 14, 2003). "Ernst & Young Renews Lease at Philadelphia Office Tower". The Philadelphia Inquirer. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
  31. ^ Kostelni, Natalie (November 6, 2009). "Wolters Kluwer relocating to space in Two Commerce". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |quotes= ignored (help)
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