PRSA Philly

ALT Kastle Systems declared Center City “one of the emptiest office districts in America” based on card swipes in buildings they serve across three states. Shouldn’t we ask how many downtown buildings they counted? Based on conversations with multiple building owners and managers in a downtown with 42 million square feet of office space, no one is aware of more than two buildings using Kastle solely as their entry system. Owners and managers of primary Center City office towers report average attendance most days of 50%–60% of pre-pandemic levels. We also use two independent data sources showing 57% of office worker back in June 2023, 17 points higher than Kastles’ count. From national comparisons of return we’ve done, Philadelphia is in the middle of the pack. We also have more residents than in 2019, not the wildly inaccurate 317,000 population loss cited in the story. An informed observer might choose a word other than “empty” to describe a downtown with 384,300 pedestrians each day.