American Commerce Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids American Commerce Center |
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|---|---|
| General information | |
| Status | Never built |
| Type | Hotel / Office/ Park/ Garden/ Retail |
| Location | 1800 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| Coordinates | 39°57′18″N 75°10′13″W / 39.95500°N 75.17028°W |
| Cost | USD $800,000,000 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 1,510 ft (460 m) |
| Roof | 1,210 ft (369 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Office tower: 63, Hotel: 26 |
| Floor area | 2,200,000 sq ft (200,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Kohn Pedersen Fox |
| Developer | Liberty Property Trust |
The American Commerce Center was a very tall skyscraper planned for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was approved to be built but then cancelled. This happened because of a difficult economic time called the 2008 recession. Today, the Comcast Technology Center stands where it would have been built.
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A Giant Plan for Philadelphia
This building was designed to be super tall. It would have been about 1,510 feet (460 meters) high. That's like 63 floors! It would have been nearly 400 feet (122 meters) taller than the Comcast Technology Center. The American Commerce Center would have been the tallest building in Philadelphia.
Two Towers Connected
The plan included two main parts. One part was a tall office tower. It would have been on the 19th Street side of Arch Street. The other part was a hotel tower. This hotel would have been 473 feet (144 meters) tall with 26 stories. It would have been on the 18th Street side.
These two towers would have been connected. A special skybridge would link them high up. This skybridge was even planned to have a garden on top!
A Record-Breaking Height
If built, this skyscraper would have been one of the tallest in the United States. It would have been the tallest by its official height. It would have been the second tallest by its tip (including antennas). Only the Willis Tower in Chicago was taller at 1,730 feet (527 meters). This was before One World Trade Center was finished in New York City in 2014.
The Approval Process
On June 19, 2008, a city leader named Darrell L. Clarke helped start the process. He introduced changes to the rules for building in the area. This was the first step to allow the tower to be built.
City Council Approval
Later that year, on November 18, 2008, the City Planning Commission agreed to the rule changes. The developers still needed final approval for their building plans. On December 11, 2008, the City Council voted. They all agreed to the zoning changes. This meant the project could move forward.
Why the Project Was Cancelled
On August 19, 2011, a company called Liberty Property Trust bought the land. They paid about $40 million for the site. This company had built other big buildings nearby. These include the Comcast Center and the Liberty Place complex. Even with the land bought and approvals in place, the project was eventually cancelled. This was mainly due to the difficult economic times.
