Even for those of you who give only cursory attention to local media outlets, it was nearly impossible over the past week to miss the bevy of economic development-related news coming out of the
Navy Yard. Perhaps the most visible had to do with the forthcoming expansion of
Urban Outfitters, Inc.; on Feb. 9, Mayor Nutter's office announced that the company will soon occupy two new structures on the campus. According to the Mayor's office, Urban's investment in those two buildings, one of which is the former Navy Yard Cruise Ship Terminal, and which together clock in at slightly more than 100,000 square feet, will total roughly $30 million. What's more, Urban Outfitters says it hopes to add roughly 1,000 new permanent jobs and three additional buildings over the next three years.
The pharmaceutical giant
GlaxoSmithKline had similar news to share last week: Working with
Liberty Property Trust, it plans to build a LEED Platinum Certified building near the Navy Yard's front entrance. It's referring to the structure, which will occupy 205,000 square feet, as "the workplace for the 21st century." Construction of the project, which is being estimated as an $81 million investment, could be complete as early as late summer. GSK will be moving all its 1,300 employees currently working in Center City to the Navy Yard, and according to the Navy Yard's Williams J. Agate Jr., "as part of that move, (GSK is) calling this their North American headquarters."
The recent developments underscore the importance of the major piece tying them all together--the $150 million Clean Energy Campus. "It's a hard topic for people to really understand the significance of," says Agate, "but it very firmly puts Philadelphia in the center of the energy efficiency conversation. And that is right where you want to be."
To learn more about the Clean Energy Campus, click
here and
here.
Source: Williams J. Agate Jr., Vice President of Navy Yard Management and Development
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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