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PhillyDeals: High rents forecast for Comcast tower

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Liberty Property Trust plans to charge rents "that are high $30s [per square foot], kissing $40," to Comcast and any additional tenants for the company's planned second Center City office tower, Liberty boss Bill Hankowsky told investors during a conference call this week.

That's higher than today's top asking rents for the priciest Philadelphia space. In Philadelphia's slow-grow office market, average leasing costs are little changed since the 1990s, and significantly lower than in New York, Boston or Washington. The new Comcast tower is a step up.

"Obviously, higher floors will charge more than lower floors," Hankowsky added.

What happens to Philadelphia's office market when Liberty opens the 59-story Comcast Innovation and Technology Center at 1800 Arch St. and Brandywine Realty Trust builds the 47-story FMC Corp. tower planned for 30th and Walnut? asked Craig Mailman, analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

The FMC and Comcast moves could dump up to 800,000 square feet of office space onto the market -- or less: Hankowsky noted that Comcast might take the whole new building, as it did with its first tower in 2005, reducing the vacancy.

He's hoping Comcast, plus Center City's rising population of educated young people, will attract more tech employers to fill empty offices. And he expects old buildings will continue to "convert to hotels and apartment buildings." In short, "I don't see a problem."

Hankowsky, who is an owner of The Inquirer, also confirmed that Comcast has bought out a unit of German's Commerzbank AG and now owns 80 percent of its original headquarters tower; Comcast will own the same proportion of the new tower, with Liberty owning the rest of both.

John W. Guinee, analyst at Stifel & Co., asked for more detailed cost projections. Hankowsky said he can't say much more than what was in the news release. He noted the planned Four Seasons Hotel space atop the tower will cost more than the office space, on a per-square-foot basis. Also, Comcast, not Liberty, will likely spend "several hundred million more" fitting out its new space beyond the $900 million construction cost, he added.

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PhillyDeals: High rents forecast for Comcast tower

Team USA sponsor Liberty Mutual to air ads during the Olympics

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Screen-grab from Liberty Mutual ad.

By Chris Reidy/Globe Staff/February 6, 2014

Liberty Mutual Insurance, the large Boston-based insurance company, is getting ready to air new TV ads tied to its Olympic sponsorship of Team USA.

The ads, which were created by the companys long-time ad agency Hill Holliday of Boston, feature Olympic athletes from the past who overcame personal setbacks to go on to later triumphs. A subplot of the ads is that Liberty Mutual can help its customers come back from their own setbacks, such as natural disasters and car accidents, so they can move on with their lives.

For every setback, theres a chance to come back and rise, Paul Alexander, the companys chief communications officer, said. And insurance can be the bridge between the setback and the comeback.

This is Liberty Mutuals first Olympics, said Alexander, who noted that Liberty Mutual is the only Boston-based company to be a Team USA sponsor.

After debuting on NBC during the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Games, the broadcast spots will continue to air throughout the Olympic Winter Games coverage on NBCs family of broadcast networks and will be supported by a significant number of additional broadcast assets, including billboard and bumpers, to promote Liberty Mutual Insurances status as official partner of the USOC and Team USA, Liberty Mutual said.

Some other insurance companies use their advertising to boast of having the lowest rates. Liberty Mutual, in contrast, sees its target audience as adults between 35 and 54 who are willing to pay a little more for better coverage and service, Alexander said.

Liberty Mutuals Olympics ads are not just about trying to sell insurance; they are also about trying to energize the companys employees. Over the past 12 months or so, the company as organized a series of employee events at which past Olympians put in appearances.

Its about building pride, excitement, motivation, and engagement, Alexander said of this effort. With these events, weve touched 30,000 of our 40,000 employees.

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Team USA sponsor Liberty Mutual to air ads during the Olympics


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