Philadelphia: construction sector trade mission

THE MISSION IN BRIEF

On June 22, the Board of Trade’s team of international trade experts, the World Trade Centre Montréal, in collaboration with the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ) and the Quebec Government Office in New York, invite you to take advantage of  Quebec Day in Philadelphia to meet general contractors and architects, and learn more about this market.

The mission includes:

• A seminar on Philadelphia’s principal construction projects
• The organization of one-on-one meetings
• Group meals planned as part of the mission program
• Participation in networking activities planned as part of the mission program
• Logistics of your stay
• Company profile in the directory of participants

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

PRICE

Co-organized by:

In partnership with:

WHY JOIN THIS MISSION?

Philadelphia, facts and figures:

• Over $5.4 billion CAD in bilateral trade
• Pennsylvania is Quebec’s 5^th largest American trade partner
• Our 2^nd largest trade surplus: $2.1 billion CAD in 2014
• Philadelphia is the 5^th largest city in the United States in terms of population, with 1.5 million inhabitants in 2013
• The 8^th largest American city in economic terms, with a GDP of $364 billion in 2012
• Philadelphia this year became the first U.S. city to be crowned a World Heritage City by UNESCO

Philadelphia construction sector 

According to the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation’s Center City Philadelphia Developments 2014-2018 report, more than $6.7 billion is being invested or is planned for major developments in Philadelphia center city. This represents a 43% increase over last year’s summary and projection of development, indicating strong investor and institutional confidence. Throughout the region and across the country, there is growing demand for transit-oriented, mixed-use places, and Philadelphia’s walkable, 17^th century street grid is being successfully repurposed for 21^st century uses. Of the 61 major Center City developments listed, 30 are residential/mixed-use and another 6 are exclusively residential. The remaining developments include public space (6), cultural (5), hospitality (4), retail (3), government and non-profit institutions (3), commercial/mixed-use (2), and healthcare and education (2) projects.

The $1.2 billion Comcast Innovation & Technology Center, being developed by Liberty Property Trust, is the largest planned project in the city’s history. The new tower at 18^th and Arch Streets will add more than 1.3 million square feet of trophy office space to downtown, with Comcast leasing all of it. The building will also house the new Four Seasons Hotel.

Strong increases in leisure, convention, and business travel have created more demand for additional downtown hotels rooms. Several hotel projects are in the pipeline, including the boutique SLS, Hudson and Kimpton Hotels, and a W Hotel and Element by Westin. Center City is expected to add 1,938 new hotel rooms by 2018, bringing the downtown total to 13,000 rooms, an increase of 97% over pre-Convention Center levels.

Center City’s growing residential population, with average household incomes over $100,000, is spurring several large-scale retail projects, such as PREIT’s redevelopment of The Gallery and NREA’s East Market project. More than 2.3 million square feet of retail is expected to be added to Center City in the next few years, with a majority of it east of Broad Street, where there is room to accommodate the larger floor plates that big-box retailers prefer.

MAJOR PROJECTS COMPLETED IN 2014 & IN THE PIPELINE

• $6.7 billion total investment
• 6,686 residential units
• 1,938 hotel rooms
• 1,961,600 SF of commercial/mixed-use development
• 2,331,315 SF of new retail space

Most recently, Drexel University and Brandywine Realty Trust announced their $3.5 billion investment in the 14-acre Schuylkill Yards project—the largest-scale development project in the city’s history—, which “will include spaces designed for innovative start-up companies, research laboratories, and corporate offices, along with residential buildings, retail and hotel space, and ample open green horizons.”

• Three large-scale manufacturing facilities are being opened in Camden, Burlington, and New Castle counties:
• Holtec International is opening a 600,000 sq. ft. campus on the Camden Waterfront
• H&M is launching a 545,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Burlington County
• Zacros America is relocating its Hedwin Division from Baltimore to Newark, DE with a $12 million, 182,000 sq. ft. facility
• The 170,000 sq. ft. expansion of the King of Prussia Mall; a 26,000 sq. ft. addition to Ardmore’s Suburban Square; and a $100 million investment into the revitalization of the Granite Run Mall in Delaware County
• Subaru is breaking ground on its new 250,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Camden
• Bristol Meyer’s Squibb is expanding its presence in Mercer County with a 650,000 sq. ft. office building
• The unveiling of the Philadelphia 76er’s new 125,000 sq. ft. practice facility
• A 34,700 sq. ft., $17 million science building at Bucks County Community College; Rowan University is expanding with a 96,500 sq. ft. building for their Rohrer College of Business
• Virtua Health System is hoping to open a $1 billion medical campus in Westampton, NJ

WHO SHOULD TAKE PART?

Firms and suppliers operating in the areas of: 

• construction material for renovations
• structural and ornamental steel
• pre-cast concrete
• curtain walls
• architectural woodworking products
• stone, tile, granite, and marble
• design services
• renovation services
• architects
• interior and exterior furniture
• lighting
• sanitation
• doors and windows
• various metals and fabricated metals
• moulding
• wood floors
• environmental construction products
• others.

Take advantage of Quebec Day in Philadelphia to meet architects and general contractors.