PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Real estate leader American Real Estate Partners (AREP) has completed a $15 million renovation of Philadelphia’s Center City office landmark at 1600 Market Street. Since acquiring the 39-story office tower in 2018, AREP has advanced its commitment to creating places that go beyond the expected by incorporating its robust, holistic wellness platform and daring art with bold contemporary design to deliver a flexible, healthy, experiential business environment unlike any other in Philadelphia. Despite the pandemic, AREP has leased over 150,000 square feet since embarking on the 14-month repositioning in late 2019.
“AREP has repositioned 1600 Market, transforming it into a luminous, cutting-edge workplace at the forefront of enhancing wellness, health, and performance while celebrating innovation and invention to honor Philadelphia’s historic character. Our goal was to create a workplace with an electric energy where productivity is elevated and where people feel comfortable and confident—in short, a unique place where Philadelphians want to be,” said Doug Fleit, AREP, Co-Founder and CEO.
To meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, AREP enhanced its Best-In-Class health and safety protocols. The building is one of the first in Philadelphia’s Central Business District to achieve UL Industries Verified Healthy Building Mark, and AREP is the first company in the nation to achieve this verification portfolio-wide. In addition to expanding its rigorous cleaning protocols to include electrostatic cleaning, the exterior air settings were elevated from 20% to 40% to maximize HVAC exchanges of fresh air. The company utilize MERV 13 filters to increase air filtration and installed UV Light and Negative Ion technology air purifiers in all elevators. Meeting and training room spaces were redesigned to accommodate smaller gatherings and social distancing. Tenant and visitor experiences are further improved with impactful communications and signage. The building has also achieved WIredScore Gold for increased digital connectivity.
“AREP seeks to demonstrate to tenants, visitors and investors that we continue to go above and beyond to maximize health, wellness and performance so that when companies are ready to return to work, their buildings are ready for them and they can feel comfortable and confident in their workplace,” said Paul Schulman, AREP Principal and Chief Operating Officer.
Designed by Collective Architecture, the building’s new identity is defined through vibrant Pop Art, a herculean illuminated sculpture of the number “1600” adjacent to the front entrance, a cascading chandelier in the lobby of more than 2,000 color-shifting LEDs that complement the bold and colorful sculpture of “Willy,” a yellow fox holding a red balloon paying homage to the historic Fox Theater which once occupied the site 1600 now occupies. Commissioned by AREP, the sculpture was fabricated by the atelier of the late Seward Johnson, a beloved local artist whose work can be found throughout the world.
The Pop Art punctuates the second-floor amenity space celebrating local icons past and present, including Betsy Ross, Kobe Bryant (whose childhood home was outside Philadelphia), William Penn, Commodore Barry, Ben Franklin, Questlove and Pink.
The re-imagination of the 40-year-old 825,968-square-foot office building also features 8,000 SF of amenities encompassing state-of-the-art collaboration space, conference rooms, wellness and fitness areas, and coffee bar from multi-award-winning local favorite, Elixr.
Photos of the project can be found here and a video walk through is available here.
ABOUT AMERICAN REAL ESTATE PARTNERS (AREP) Headquartered in the greater Washington metropolitan area, AREP is an institutional fund manager, and operating partner focused on office and mixed-use repositioning and development throughout the Greater Mid-Atlantic Region. Everything AREP does is in service of elevating customer experience, and wellness is a portfolio-wide priority, which is why AREP is proud to be one of the first UL customers to achieve UL’s Verified Healthy Building Mark for its entire building portfolio.
Since the company’s founding in 2003, AREP has deployed over $4.0B across targeted geographies, acquired more than 17M SQFT of class-A real estate, and currently oversees over 10M SQFT of assets. AREP's vertically integrated real estate platform provides best-in-class expertise in all ownership disciplines, from property management and building operations to investment strategy, market research, and acquisitions. By leveraging this expertise AREP remains at the leading edge of real estate innovation maximizing building performance to provide real value.
