Two big tenants looking at space in Center City

Two big tenants have entered the Center City office market to evaluate what options are available to accommodate them in an environment where large blocks of space are in short supply.

Center City has at times seen more than a handful of large tenants conducting searches for office space but this year is one in which there has been a dearth of those mega tenants scouring the market. Blame it on lease expiration dates.

That doesn’t mean the year hasn’t witnessed its share of sizable deals. Hill International locked in on 60,000 square feet at Commerce Square, University of Pennsylvania Health System leased 56,000 square feet at Centre Square, and Health Partners Plans Inc. took another 70,000 square feet at 907 Market St., among others. However, those firms seeking more than 100,000 square feet have been few and far between. Cigna Corp. and Radian Group are two companies of that size that have decided to evaluate its options in the office market.

Radian has made its headquarters in 1601 Market St. since 1993 and its lease expires in August 2017. It occupies 150,000 square feet at the 680,000-square-foot office building. It is growing. Nine months ago, the company leased 23,000 square feet at Centre Square.

CBRE Inc. is representing them in its search and Nelson is helping assess its space needs.

Though the company occupies a total of about 175,000 square feet, it’s not certain how much space it will need by the end of its search, said Colleen Teears, vice president of real estate and facilities at Radian.

It’s started to try to figure that out now and has already started to tour different buildings. Where it might land is anyone’s guess.

“We’re not ruling anything out at all including our current location,” Teears said.

The search will encompass inside and outside of Philadelphia and looking at what incentives might be available in different jurisdictions.

“We want the best location for our employees,” Teears said.

The company has 795 employees of which most work in Center City.

Cigna keeps shrinking. The insurance company is looking for between 250,000 to 300,000 square feet of space. It now occupies 450,000 square feet at Two Liberty Place, a 1.2-million-square-foot skyscraper. When Cigna initially moved into Two Liberty, it occupied the entire structure.

A Cigna official couldn’t be reached for comment.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal