Cira Centre - History

History

The site of the Cira Centre used to be a parking deck that sat over rail tracks across Arch Street from 30th Street Station in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Plans to develop the rail yards north and northwest of 30th Street Station had been around for decades. Among the proposed ideas for the rail yards included building a new city hall and, in the 1960s before Veterans Stadium was built, a sports stadium was proposed for the area. In 1970 Philadelphia considered holding a bicentennial exposition over the rail yards, and the area was also considered for the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In 1985 an office, hotel and shopping complex was proposed by real estate developer Gerald D. Hines, and in 1992 an idea for a stadium was again proposed for the site. Nothing ever came out of the plans.

On May 8, 2002, Brandywine Realty Trust announced its intentions to build a glass office skyscraper next to 30th Street Station. Called the Cira Centre, the skyscraper would be designed by architect César Pelli. The plan also included replacing the rest of the parking deck with a landscaped entrance plaza and parking lot. The plan to develop the land around 30th Street Station was part of a nationwide effort by Amtrak, which owns the land and the train station, to earn revenue from its real estate holdings. Amtrak's effort also emphasizes projects that would increase ridership. Also part of the project was construction of a parking garage. The nine-story, 1,525 car garage is intended to alleviate a parking shortage at 30th Street Station. Planned since 1996, the US$50 million parking garage began construction in 2003 and was opened in May 2004.

The site of the Cira Centre sits within a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone (KOZ). A KOZ was designed to encourage development in poor and blighted areas by exempting the tenants of the building from almost all state and local taxes. In 2002 the Center City office vacancy rate was 12.5 percent and numerous businesses leases were set to expire in 2005 and 2006. Owners of other buildings were critical of having the KOZ for the Cira Centre and the proposed KOZ designation for the Comcast Center, another office high-rise being planned. The landlords were afraid that the tax breaks for the new skyscrapers would attract their existing tenants to the new buildings. On December 24, 2003 Brandywine Realty Trust announced the first tenants to lease room in the Cira Centre. Brandywine Realty Trust signed leases with Dechert LLP, Woodcock Washburn LLP, and Attalus Capital. Dechert LLP and Woodcock Washburn LLP were moving from other city skyscrapers, the Bell Atlantic Tower and One Liberty Place respectively. Attalus Capital was moving its offices from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Dechert and Woodcock Washburn moving to the Cira Centre fueled the KOZ controversy because Dechert and Woodcock Washburn were wealthy law firms and would no longer have to pay taxes for numerous years. By 2006, about 60 percent of Cira Centre's tenants came from within Philadelphia.

Having secured tenants for the Cira Centre, Brandywine Realty Trust could now proceed with construction of the skyscraper. Turner Construction was awarded US$116 million contract to build the Cira Centre in February 2004 and construction began later that year. The building was topped off November 16, 2004. The topping off ceremony, the first in Philadelphia since 1999, was attended by numerous dignitaries including Mayor John Street. The beam was raised shortly before 1:00 PM and was signed by workers and guests. The Cira Centre's glass facade was completely in place by the end of July 2005.

The Cira Centre opened on October 31, 2005 with 93 percent of the building leased. Dechert was the first company to move employees into the building with many of rest of the tenants not moving in until early 2006. Cira Centre held its grand opening on December 1. The grand opening featured a musical group called String Theory whose performance in the Cira Centre's lobby included a large harp and 12 100 feet (30 m) long brass wires attached to the building. The Cira Centre was the first office skyscraper to be completed in Philadelphia since Two Commerce Square in 1992.

On August 31, 2007, the University of Pennsylvania and Brandywine Realty Trust announced its plans to build Cira Centre South. Located south of 30th Street Station and the Cira Centre, the new project is designed by the same architecture firm as the Cira Centre. Cira Centre South will include a 40 - 50-story office tower and a 25 - 30-story residential tower. The project also includes a parking garage and conversion of the U.S. Postal Service building on 30th and Market Streets into offices for the Internal Revenue Service. The parking garage and Post Office conversion is planned to be completed in 2010 and the two towers in 2012.