Rendell Administration Announces Comcast Corporation Will Stay In Philadelphia; Retain 1,300 Jobs and Create Thousands More

Rendell Administration Announces Comcast Corporation Will Stay In Philadelphia; Retain 1,300 Jobs and Create Thousands More

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- On behalf of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Yablonsky today announced that Comcast Corporation, the largest provider of cable and broadband services in the United States, will retain 1,300 jobs by entering into a new 15-1/2 year lease on John F. Kennedy Boulevard upon the completion of the new Comcast Center.

"This project goes a long way in solidifying Comcast's long-term commitment to Philadelphia and the Commonwealth while providing for future expansion capabilities," Secretary Yablonsky said. "Companies like Comcast, and the high-quality jobs they create and retain, are essential for Pennsylvania to become the economic leader it should be."

Comcast will retain its 1,300 corporate headquarters employees and grow those employees to 1,900 by the time they move into the building at the end of 2007 and will have room for as many as 3,000 to 4,000 employees over the next decade.

Additionally, with construction set to begin this month, it is projected that 4,500 to 5,000 construction jobs generating $200 million in increased regional wages and earnings and $1.4 billion of overall economic impact will be created.

Liberty Property Trust is developing the Comcast Center, a 1.2-million- square-foot, state-of-the-art office building, at 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Comcast has signed a 15-1/2 year lease, and will initially occupy 534,000 square feet, or approximately 44 percent of the building's rentable office space. Comcast will also have the ability to request the construction of a second, 250,000-square-foot office building on the site.

The Governor's Action Team, economic development professionals who report directly to Governor Rendell and Secretary Yablonsky, worked with Comcast to support the project. DCED has agreed to provide a financial package of $12.75 million that includes a $4 million Opportunity Grant, $6.75 million in Job Creation Tax Credits (JCTC), and $2 million in Job Training Assistance.

Comcast is also considering taking advantage of Pennsylvania's PIDA and PEDFA loan/bond financing programs for its expansion efforts in West Chester. This funding will also help to facilitate the expansion of Comcast facilities in Radnor, Downingtown, Plymouth Meeting, Pittsburgh, and Lebanon as well as the enhancement of the Comcast University training programs.

The $435 million project will also include significant public improvements. As a result, Governor Rendell has also committed $30 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funds to help to defray the costs of the improvements that include a half-acre public plaza, a dramatic new formal entrance to Suburban Station, expansion of the underground Suburban Station concourse one block north to Arch Street to accommodate additional regional rail service, and a full reconstruction and upgrade of the utilities at the site. Construction of Comcast Center is scheduled to begin in January 2005 and the building will be ready for occupancy at the end of 2007.

"We are grateful for the support that Governor Rendell and his team have given to this very important project. Creating jobs and economic development in Pennsylvania is in everyone's best interest and we are proud to call the Commonwealth our home," said Brian L. Roberts, Comcast's Chairman and CEO.

Comcast was first incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1969. The company currently employs 10,000 workers in the state and serves more than 21 million cable television customers and more than 6 million high-speed Internet customers.

For information on DCED funding, visit the Department's web site at http://www.inventpa.com/.

CONTACT: Kevin Ortiz, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, +1-717-783-1132.


Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

CONTACT: Kevin Ortiz, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development, +1-717-783-1132

Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/
http://www.inventpa.com/


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