Scaled Back to One Downtown Block : Koll High-Rise Project Gets Extension

Redevelopment officials gave the go-ahead Friday to another 120 days of negotiations with the Koll Co., a downtown developer that wants to build a high-rise office building on a block just west of the county courthouse.

The Centre City Development Corp., the city’s redevelopment arm, approved the extended talks after Koll Co. officials scaled down a project once planned to spread over three city blocks.

Koll’s plans now call for the construction of a $60-million office building roughly 20 stories tall, with shops and restaurants at the ground level, on the block bounded by Broadway, C, Union and State streets.

Biff Porter, development manager for Koll, said uncertainty over the future of the block just west of that site has prevented the company from securing a prime tenant and financing for its project.

That block, bounded by Broadway, C, State and Columbia streets, is owned in part by developer Sandor Shapery, who has announced plans to build a high-rise hotel and office building. Koll had also wanted to build on that block, as well a block to the north, but law requires that as a property owner in the area, Shapery be given the opportunity to build his own project before the public condemns his land and sells it to another developer.

When it became clear that Shapery was determined to pursue his project, Koll decided to focus its efforts on just the one block.

“Our design, funding, and finding a partner would all be contingent on how big the project was,” Porter said. “Since we have some strong interest from tenants, we want to be able to present a clear path of achievement to them.”

Porter said Koll believes the future of the downtown office market rests in the area from Horton Plaza west to the waterfront.

“We feel the trend is to the west,” he said. “By our development of the Wells Fargo building (at Broadway and First), which at the time was not the place to be, we’ve shown we are committed to the west end of town.”

Shapery said Friday he hopes to obtain financing for his $200-million project within a year and begin construction within 18 months. He plans to build a 30-story office building with more than 400,000 square feet of office space and a 400-room hotel.