Chefs Plan 15,777-SF Restaurant at Comcast Center

PHILADELPHIA-Chefs Georges Perrier and Chris Scarduzio will open a 15,777-sf restaurant over the first three stories of Comcast Center, the 57-story office tower being developed by Malvern, PA-based Liberty Property Trust as headquarters for the cable TV giant. The yet-to-be-named restaurant will anchor the building’s 40,000 sf of retail and restaurant space and will include a seasonal outdoor café on the building’s half-acre public plaza.

Terms of the lease are undisclosed. Perrier founded five-star Le Bec Fin here. He and Scarduzio are partners in Brasserie Perrier on Walnut Street, Brasserie Perrier at Boyds within the newly renovated men’s clothing store on Chestnut Street, and Mia at Caesars Atlantic City. The duo announced plans for the new restaurant by serving a lunch of braised beef short ribs, potato gratin and forest mushroom to 80 construction workers at the site.

Scarduzio, partner and executive chef of the planned restaurant, called the venture “the next chapter in Philadelphia dining history. We look forward to setting new trends and will continue to be a driving force behind Philadelphia’s culinary renaissance.”

The 1.2-million-sf building at JFK Blvd. between 17th and 18th Streets will be the tallest building between Chicago and New York, according to John Gattuso, Liberty’s SVP and director of urban development. Included are a 120-foot-high garden and multiple three-story stacked atria, and it is being constructed to qualify for LEED certification by the US Green Building Council. The construction cost is approximately $435 million, and a spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com it is currently 73% pre-leased, primarily by Comcast.