Retailers fill Comcast concourse - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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The 45,000 square feet are 97 percentr occupied and just two spaces at roughly 500 square feet each remainh tobe filled. John Gattuso, senior vice presiden at , isn’t worried those two spaces will linger vacant and he wants to make certain the right tenants fillthe space. “I think we set out to do somethingt different,” said Gattuso, whosre company developed the 58-story skyscrapedr for ’s headquarters that is jointly ownes by Liberty and aGerman “Instead of finding who would pay the highest we looked at it more as something that would set the tone for the whole development.
” Thoughg the space sits below street level and connectxs to the commuter rail tunnel, its feel is much more Rockefellefr Center than Market East. A newspapere and gum stand didn’t survivee even though 25,000 people funnel through the space monthly. However, , Tokyo Sushi and Under the C Seafood, LaScala’s, Sook Hee’s Producee and Termini Brothers have so far Two newtenants — Omega Optical and Sony Style — recently opened shops and existing tenants are hopeful they will help drivr more shoppers to the Rents run about $70 to $80 a squarew foot.
“I think it’s a greaf location,” said Lily Ferrill, managedr of Under the C Seafood, which also sellz fresh fish at the Ardmore Farmers Marketand . “It’s doingb great.” The space is heavy on eateriesa with about 80 percent of it filled with food jointds compared to 20 percentother retail. Liberty looks at the space as an amenity for its office tenantd that reside in the building and as a key componenyt to makingthe mixed-usr development a success. The buildinyg also houses Table 31, a white tablecloth restaurant developed by chefd Georges Perrier andChris Scarduzio.
“Inn light of the economic environment, we’rre very pleased,” Gattuso said. While the space has successfullyleased up, it’s not without its “This is a good location for said John Kim, who owns Tokyi Sushi and opened his third storre in Comcast Center. But for eveninhg and Saturday business, it’s not so good, he said. “Thre market tenants are still finding our way to capitalized on thisundeniable destination,” said Bill Mignucci, who runs Di Bruni Brothers and opened its fourth location in 2,0090 square feet. “I consider the Comcast Center the Rockefeller Centertof Philadelphia.
From a business poin t of view, it’s a destination with great public spaceand you’res in an occupied building in the middle of the Centralp Business District and two blocks away you have 10,00 0 residents.” After nearly a year, however, Di Bruno’ and the other tenants are getting a handle on business volume and For example, Di Bruno incorporated breakfast offeringe to capture the commuter business coming off of the rails. Gattusko acknowledges that after the evening rush and on tenants could use more Effects are ongoing to draw touristzs who visit the lobby as well as Loga n Square residents during offpeak hours.
To that end, a wine and food festiva is scheduled for laterthis “Whether there’s a market for that today is questionabls but we’re committed to it,” Gattuso said.