After squashing rumors that it was planning to move its headquarters out of Philadelphia earlier this year, Aramark has announced that it will be sticking around Market Street—just in a new neighborhood and new-ish building.
Aramark, one of the largest international corporations headquartered in the city, announced today that it will be moving its headquarters to 2400 Market Street, right along the Schuylkill River Trail.
"We began discussions about moving about a year ago," Eric J. Foss, Aramark’s chairman, president, and CEO said at the announcement on Cira Greene. "The answer was right in front of us all along."
Philadelphia Business Journal first reported earlier this year that Aramark was looking for a new headquarters, potentially outside of Philadelphia and the state. The move might have been a big blow to the city and state, as it's one of the largest international corporations headquartered in Philly.
After working with Governor Tom Wolfe and the Kenney administration, Aramark said it remain in Pennsylvania, though it wasn't clear whether the company's headquarters would remain at 1100 Market. Foss announced that the food distribution company’s new headquarters will relocate 13 blocks down Market Street into the former Hudson Motor Car Company plant.
The plan calls to transform the existing structure into a a modern, 600,000-square-foot, nine-story building. Aramark, the anchor tenant, says it will occupy the top five floors and 300,000 square feet of space.
Designed by architecture firm Gensler, with Varenhorst serving as the executive architect, the building has been in the works for some time, now, undergoing a number of revisions. Today, the design plan emphasizes green space, innovation, and sustainability—the three criteria that Foss says Aramark was looking for in its new headquarters.
There will be a "state of the art" dining facility for the company’s 1,200 associates that will be moving to 2400 Market, as well as spaces for collaboration and a fitness center. In keeping with the company’s green goals, the plan calls for 8,000 square feet of outdoor terraces.
The design proposal still has to receive city approval. A previous proposal was supposed to go to the Civic Design Review in May, but was pulled last minute by the developer, PMC Property Group.
If all goes to plan, however, Aramark says it plans to make its big move in fall 2018. In the meantime, a bright red billboard will sit on top of the existing structure, above the iconic big, blue whale mural (which, according to the renderings, will not be preserved in the renovations). The billboard reads, "Aramark: Home Sweet Home."
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