If you thought 2017 was a big year for Philly development, just wait until next year: More than 8 million square feet of development is expected to deliver in 2018.
That’s according to a new analysis released by JLL Philadelphia, which found that 2018 will be the year that Philly sees an astonishing amount of its projects finish construction in the Central Business District (CBD), which JLL defines as Market East, Market West, University City, and the Navy Yard.
Put simply, “2018 will leave 2017 in the dust,” the report said.
The research firm projects that about 8.7 million square feet of development will deliver in 2018, and most of it will be in the third quarter. In fact, the third quarter in 2018 will see 3.75 million square feet of construction deliver—that’s more than the 3.3 million square feet that finished up in 2017 overall.
A good chunk of 2018’s square footage will be office space, the report notes. Projects like Aramark’s new headquarters at 2400 Market, uCity Square’s 3675 Market, and One Franklin Tower in Logan Square are included in the 30 percent of office space that will open in 2018.
Of course, the highly-anticipated Comcast Technology Center will be the biggest project to deliver next year. The tallest tower in the city will bring 1.3 million square feet of new construction to Philly.
Not all of what we’ll see in 2018 will be new construction, though. Of the 8.7 million square feet of development, about 3.3 million square feet will be redevelopments of existing buildings.