Cracking Found in Frame of Philadelphia's Comcast Technology Center Tower

The soon-to-be tallest building in the nation not located in New York City of Chicago has a structural issue that required a pause on construction. The issue is not expected to be catastrophic, however.

1 minute read

August 23, 2017, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Downtown Philadelphia

rlassman / Shutterstock

"Liberty Property Trust has paused assembly of the upper-most portion of the Comcast Technology Center tower to inspect the metal being used in that part of the structure for potential cracks," reports Jacob Adelman.

According to Adelman's source Liberty, "between 35 and 40 possible 'indications' of cracking were found in the steel being used to construct the two-story-high frame that will house the CTC’s lighting and mechanical systems atop the building’s 60 occupiable stories." 

Before ringing any alarms bells for the fate of Philadelphia's skyline, however, the company says it might be possible to complete the project without falling behind schedule, despite the pause for inspections. The $1.5 billion building—which will house "offices and labs for Comcast Corp.’s growing workforce of technologists, engineers, and software architects, as well as studios for its local NBC and Telemundo affiliates and a Four Seasons hotel—is scheduled to open about a year from now. Construction at the tower already bounced back from one pause in construction, when workers from a union representing crane and elevator operators stopped work in June.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017 in The Philadelphia Inquirer

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