World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia

Jennifer McClellan
Bliss, Gouverneur & Associates
(212) 840-1661

In Philadelphia:
Bruce Crawley
Crawley Haskins Sloan
(215) 922-7184

Date: May 13, 2003

Greater Philadelphia World Trade Center Featured at International Waterfront Development Conference

The Greater Philadelphia World Trade Center has been chosen by The Royal Institute of British Architects as the sole U.S. project which will be featured at the Waterfront Expo 2003, the International Waterfront Conference and Exhibition in London, October 21-23, 2003.

Martin Schiffman, president of Waterfront Renaissance Associates, the development partnership which owns the site, will present the project at the Expo. Mr. Schiffman is also a managing director of New York investment firm Carl Marks & Co. Inc., the project's primary sponsor.

A total of 11 projects from around the world were chosen to be highlighted at the Expo. According to the selection committee, the Greater Philadelphia World Trade Center was chosen because the project incorporates several key principles that govern urban waterfront reclamation, specifically:

the assemblage of a contiguous city block using creative, private sector purchasing and financing tools;

the successful engagement with Philadelphia's City Planning Commission to confer the proper zoning, bonuses and other incentives;

the tax incentives offered by the State and City through Pennsylvania's Keystone Opportunity Zone program;

the architectural principles employed to maximize the zoning, respect space utilization preferences for Philadelphia's commercial and residential users and establish a creative phasing program that allows the project's components to "stand alone;"

the public/private partnership created with the Delaware River Port Authority to fund key elements of the project and create the Trade Center's global business services organization, World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia.

Further, the selection committee recognized the establishment of a formula to create jobs through the internationalization of the region's economy, Mr. Schiffman said.

"This opportunity will raise the international profile of the city of Philadelphia, as well as that of the project, which are important steps in the process to achieve our ultimate mandate of creating prime, mixed-use space, which will attract top-tier tenants from around the world," said Schiffman.

The master plan for the Greater Philadelphia World Trade Center will allow for the phased development of nearly 4 million square feet of space, consisting of a residential tower and three office buildings. The site's special zoning status allows for the construction of any number of appropriate parking spaces without deduction from the allowance for its commercial space. The project will consist of:

a 42 story, 396 unit luxury apartment project which will be the first structure;

an 18 story, 400,000 s.f. office building which will be known as Tower One;

a subsequent 42 story, 800,000 s.f. office tower;
a final 42 story, 1.1 million s.f. office tower; and
118,000 s.f. of retail throughout the project.

Waterfront Expo 2003, the International Waterfront Conference and Exhibition will be held in London at ExCel Conference Center, itself a waterfront development. Organized by Media Generation Events Ltd., in association with The Royal Institute of British Architects and supported by major international land use associations such as The International Centre Cities on Water in Venice and the Urban Land Institute, Waterfront Expo will provide a platform for all professionals involved in waterfront and marina design, development and management to examine issues and share current thinking on the wide range of issues which confront this specialized sector of urban development. Information on the Expo is available on www.waterfrontexpo.com.

The other case studies will be:

Silvertown Quays, London Docklands, UK

Toronto Waterfront, Canada

Dublin Docklands, Ireland

Victoria & Albert Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa

Beirut Marina, Beirut, Lebanon

Palm Islands, Dubai, UAE

Waterfront Edinburgh, Scotland

Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, UK

"Young City", Gdansk, Poland

West Bay Island, Qatar

Carl Marks & Co. Inc., founded in 1925 as a foreign exchange dealer, became the largest market maker of foreign securities in the United States, and today is a diversified merchant bank with financial specialties including workout services, venture capital, corporate acquisitions, specialized money management, and real estate investment and development. Carl Marks has interests in more than 80 companies and a nationwide real estate portfolio, together totaling $1.5 billion in asset value.

To find out more about WTCGP, please call (215) 218-3750 x 2057 or (856) 968-2057 or visit our website at www.wtcphila.org.

The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation which has applied for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. WTCGP is a licensed member of the World Trade Centers Association and evolved from the Export Development Unit of the Delaware River Port Authority. It offers a number of programs such as one-on-one consulting through an extensive network of international trade consultants, market research reports, customized export/import strategies, and educational opportunities through seminars, international trade missions and networking events.