For the first time, Comcast Corp. and Liberty Property
Trust acknowledged Tuesday they were partnering on a third real estate deal in
Center City, which some have speculated could be the site of another Comcast
office tower.
The companies have jointly bought land at 19th and Arch
Streets, diagonally across the street from where they are building the 59-story
Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, company spokesman John Demming said.
Comcast and Liberty have no specific plans for the
parcels, as the companies concentrate on developing the new tower, Demming
said.
The new innovation center will be the tallest building in
the country outside New York and Chicago. Liberty also developed the 58-floor
Comcast Center near the new tower's construction site.
Demming's comments came after Liberty CEO William
Hankowsky discussed the deal earlier in the day during an earnings call with
analysts.
It was the first confirmation by the companies that they
were cooperating on land purchases at 19th and Arch.
"People have asked about this in the past,"
Hankowsky said on the call. "We are acquiring some real estate at 19th and
Arch. This is a great relationship and has yielded, I think for both parties,
good real estate and good investments."
Liberty spokeswoman Jeanne Ackerly Leonard had no
immediate details about the size of the plot being acquired or the number of
properties that have been bought.
Hankowsky said during the call that Liberty had yet to
make any announcement about how it intends to develop the parcels.
"There's nothing around the corner," he said.
Bill Luff, executive managing director for Colliers
International's Philadelphia office, said there had been speculation among real
estate watchers that Liberty was acquiring the properties at Comcast's behest,
since the cable company could soon need more space even after filling out its
first two towers.
"I can see the logic that there could be a third
building," he said.
Source: Philly.com
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