Newspapers to Lose Lobby as New Retail Headed to 801 Market Street

In a memo sent to all Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com employees yesterday, publisher Bob Hall announced some new retail for 801 Market Street! He didn’t disclose what, exactly, was coming to the old Strawbridge & Clothier building in Market East, but the Inquirer reports it’s Century 21 — no relation to the real estate company — a discount designer department store with seven locations in New York and New Jersey. Hall told employees at the newspapers and website that they will “be pleased with the flagship retailer that PREIT has secured and will soon announce as our new neighbor in the coming weeks” — oh, and also, they’ll now have to enter the building from Eighth Street.

The memo contains lots of classic corporate speak — the closing of the Market Street lobby, which people who work at 801 Market generally use, is presented as a great opportunity for the company — and also notes that “deconstruction of the space will at times be loud and somewhat messy.” Unfortunately, Hall uses two spaces after a period — argh!

More deatils on the Century 21 announcement at Shoppist.

The full memo follows:

I wanted to be the first to alert you regarding some exciting enhancements that we will be making to IGM’s headquarters at 801 Market Street. These forthcoming developments will improve the overall experience that you, and our visitors, will benefit from in the coming weeks and months. Pennsylvania Real Estate Reinvestment Trust (PREIT), has advised us that a new retailing tenant will be moving into the first and second floor of our building in the coming months and, that in order to best accommodate their footprint and space requirements, IGM has agreed to relinquish to PREIT our Market Street entrance and lobby effective Saturday, May 31.

This news was initially bittersweet, as many of you are aware that our company invested considerable dollars on the design of this entrance and lobby when we moved to 801 Market Street in July 2012. I also recognize that many of our employees and guests have become accustomed to accessing our offices via this entry point, rather than using the Eighth Street entrance to the building. However, PREIT has been more than accommodating, and proactive, in suggesting very constructive ways in which this change to the overall building, and our offices, will benefit IGM.

I believe that you will not only be pleased with the flagship retailer that PREIT has secured and will soon announce as our new neighbor in the coming weeks, but you will welcome the many amenities that our company will receive as PREIT continues to collaborate closely with us to improve the Eighth Street lobby entrance and our third floor elevator corridor. These improvements will allow IGM, and our publications, to receive a much greater branding presence in these spaces and on the building exterior in the form of very tasteful and positive aesthetics. Therefore, for many of these positive reasons, we have agreed with PREIT in the decision to relinquish IGM’s Market Street entrance and lobby for the needs of their new tenant. I will be updating you regularly, as when we relocated to 801 Market Street, on the developments and progress being made that will impact you. My announcements will occur during the course of our entrance relocation and throughout the additions that will be made to our third floor elevator corridor.

Today, I would like to note the following immediate changes and notifications to make this period of required construction and deconstruction more seamless for everyone:

• If you have a habit of entering IGM via the 801 Market Street doors, please immediately begin a new pattern of entering our offices via the Eighth Street lobby to the building, since the Market Street lobby will have construction gradually beginning in that space effective Monday, April 28.

• The two conference rooms (Fairmount Park & Rittenhouse Square) in the Market Street lobby will no longer be available or accessible effective Monday, April 28.

• For our Credit Union members and visitors to the Accounts Receivable desk, these service centers will remain open in the Market Street lobby for as long as possible, without compromising the safety of those employees and their patrons. Once we receive notification from PREIT that deconstruction of the Market Street lobby will begin to impact the access and safety of those service desks, we will immediately announce a relocation plan that provides adequate notice to those employees and their patrons.

• Deconstruction of the space will at times be loud and somewhat messy, so we ask that you immediately begin avoiding routine entry and exit via the Market Street lobby. If you need to enter and exit the lobby, please be cooperative and understanding of these circumstances.

• You will likely see various construction workers within the Market Street lobby and third floor space in the coming weeks and they will do everything possible to avoid any type of disturbance during normal business hours, thereby minimizing any distractions and disruptions that you might experience in association with our construction related plans.

For your convenience, the following email is established for sharing with me your questions and concerns: [snip]

We appreciate your flexibility and cooperation in the coming weeks as we move forward in improving our workplace environment and headquarters.

Bob