Binswanger Secures Thousands of Philadelphia Jobs for the Coming Decades

In the past year, Binswanger has represented Tasty Baking Company, Comcast, Inc. and Citizens Bank in three long-term lease transactions that have secured thousands of jobs in the City of Philadelphia. In addition to retaining jobs and the high-caliber companies that provide them, Binswanger and these transactions have facilitated two of the city’s most high profile commercial real estate projects — The Navy Yard in Philadelphia and the Comcast Tower.

Binswanger led Tasty Baking Company through an extensive site search that culminated in early May with the iconic Philadelphia company signing a 26-year lease at The Navy Yard in Philadelphia. “Binswanger’s extensive knowledge of the Mid-Atlantic region and of our corporate objectives proved invaluable to us,” says David Marberger, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Tasty Baking Company. “Although we explored all options, our preference was to stay in Philadelphia. This plan is a win/win for our shareholders and for the city to have retained manufacturing jobs,” he says.

Tasty Baking Company’s presence at The Navy Yard is a considerable milestone for the city’s effort to redevelop the decommissioned military base. The company’s plans for the 25-acre land parcel include a new, 345,500 sq. ft., state-of-the-art Tastykake bakery and distribution center as well as a 35,000 sq. ft. lease for corporate office space at the nearby “green” Navy Yard Corporate Center.

Having maintained its own corporate headquarters in Center City Philadelphia since 1931, Binswanger has not only witnessed Philadelphia’s economic transformation over the years but often has been instrumental in the process. Binswanger has been Comcast’s preferred real estate provider for over twenty years now and played an integral role in the company’s decision to develop the Comcast Tower at 18th Street and JFK Boulevard.

Comcast originally committed to a 15-1/2 year lease of 534,000 sq. ft. that solidified construction of the new Comcast Tower in January of 2005. The company then expanded to 900,000 sq. ft. the same year. Today Comcast is leasing 1.1 million square feet, all but three stories, of the 57-story tower that will redefine the Philadelphia skyline. Comcast’s current space commitment in what will be the city’s tallest building is twice as much space as it currently holds in Center Square and its employee ranks eventually will swell to over 2,000.

David R. Binswanger, president and chief executive officer of Binswanger believes the impact Comcast and the new tower will have on the City of Philadelphia has only just begun. “The opportunity for growth is tremendous and Comcast’s ever changing and expanding role in the telecommunications sector means the Comcast Center will be familiar to businesspersons, politicians, celebrities and sports figures alike,” says Binswanger.

Binswanger has already represented one financial institution, Citizens Bank, in a lease transaction for 50,000 sq. ft. of the remaining space in the Comcast Tower. The bank has signed a ten-year lease and will be relocating its regional headquarters to this premier address.

Binswanger is an international, full-service real estate organization with offices worldwide throughout the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico and South America, the U.K. and Europe, the Middle East and Asia.