OVERVIEW
Econsult
Solutions, Inc. (ESI) prepared a study on the Economic and Fiscal Impacts of
Comcast Corporation on the city of Philadelphia and Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and Proposed Comcast Innovation and Technology Center. ESI
assessed the economic impact of Comcast Corporation in Philadelphia and
Pennsylvania, and its newly proposed development project, the Comcast Innovation
and Technology Center, which will be located along the 1800 block of Arch
Street in Center City. The study evaluates the direct and indirect impacts that
Comcast operations have yielded in the City of Philadelphia and Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania since the opening of the Comcast Center at 17th and JFK Boulevard
in 2008. The study also projects the direct and indirect economic impacts the
construction and ongoing operations of the new Comcast Innovation and
Technology Center will yield for the City and Commonwealth, which will include
a Four Seasons luxury hotel and restaurant and infrastructure improvements.
The
combined economic impact of Comcast’s current and expanded operations will be
significant in its reach and impact. The new Comcast Innovation and Technology
Center will contribute to job support and tax revenue increases through a rich
spillover effect that includes commercial development, property value
enhancement, and charitable contributions. Among the report’s key findings:
•
The construction period of the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center is
expected to have a total economic impact of $1.7 billion in the City and $2.8
billion in the Commonwealth through its direct and spillover activities. The
economic activity generated from the construction period is expected to provide
an estimated $16 million in tax revenue to the City and $67 million in tax
revenue to the Commonwealth.
•
The construction period alone will yield an estimated 20,700 temporary jobs in
the Commonwealth, 6,300 of which will be in the City of Philadelphia.
•
The office, Four Seasons hotel, retail, and restaurant operations in the
Comcast Innovation and Technology Center and their spillover activities will
create an additional economic impact in the City of $720 million annually and
over $1 billion annually in the Commonwealth. The operation of the new building
and its spillover activities are estimated to increase annual tax revenues to
the City by $22 million and by $31 million to the Commonwealth.
•
Comcast’s current operations, including the Comcast Center, and the spillover
activity it generates total $2.7 billion annually in direct and indirect
economic activity in the City of Philadelphia and over $5 billion in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (This is more than double Econsult Corporation’s
initial economic impact forecast conducted in 2008, which indicated Comcast’s
operations would generate $1.16 billion annually in direct and indirect
economic activity in Philadelphia and is more than triple the $1.65 billion in
direct and indirect economic activity estimated in Pennsylvania.)
•
Of this activity, Econsult estimates that Comcast’s current operations and
spillover activity generate $131 million per year in taxes and fees for the
City of Philadelphia and over $404 million per year in taxes and fees for the
Commonwealth.
•
We estimate that from 2009-2023, Comcast will generate, both directly and
indirectly, a total of $213 million in revenues for the School District of
Philadelphia.
•
Since the construction of the Comcast Center, even with the recession period,
property values in the immediately surrounding area of Comcast Center have
increased when overall Center City property values have declined. Since 2007,
house prices within a half mile of Comcast Center have grown by 15% and by 8%
within a mile from Comcast Center. For the same time period, house prices in
Center City declined by 3% and house prices in Philadelphia declined by 17%.
•
Since the start of construction of the Comcast Center, there has been at least
8 million square feet of new investment (new construction and major renovation)
near Comcast Center, totaling about $1.5 billion in investment in Center City
Philadelphia.
Econsult
Solutions, Inc. constructed an economic impact model using multiplier data
provided by the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis to
conduct this report. This allowed estimation of the scale and composition of
the construction and operations activity’s spillover impacts. ESI also
constructed a fiscal impact model to translate these spillover impacts into
their commensurate temporary and permanent expansions in various City and
Commonwealth tax bases. Therefore, they translate into increased tax revenues
for the City and Commonwealth tax bases.
See
the Full Report here.
Source:
Econsult
Solutions
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