Office leasing rebounds in Center City, but daytime worker population still lags prepandemic levels
Building Back the Daytime Office Population, a Center City Insights report brief examines the state of Philadelphia’s downtown office district. The report finds a district of two stories: office leasing fundamentals are stabilizing and residential conversions are gaining momentum, while return-to-office (RTO) rates have plateaued, with no meaningful uptick in the office district’s daytime population over the last two years.
“Office leasing and neighborhood investment are moving in the right direction, but a strong data trend for buildings hasn’t yet translated into a strong data trend for daytime foot traffic. Closing that gap means understanding what will actually bring workers back to the office more often, and that’s exactly what we intend to do this fall.”
– Prema Katari Gupta, President and CEO
Looking ahead, the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC), a nonprofit business leadership organization managed by CCD staff, is piloting two new initiatives this fall:
- The first brings CoExperiences, a Pittsburgh-based technology platform that matches employees with local events, to Philadelphia through CPDC member companies.
- The second is a series of focus groups with employees of downtown companies, gathering direct feedback on what workers love, what they don’t, and what they want more of in Center City.
Organizations interested in joining these conversations can reach CCD at research@centercityphila.org.
To read or download the full report, Building Back the Daytime Office Population, see below.
