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A year ago when Comcast unveiled its plans to develop a second, taller tower across from its present headquarters, Mayor Michael Nutter hailed the project as an impressive confluence of world class, using the phrase five times while discussing the new building. It was with good reason. Comcast presented a structure to be made entirely of glass and stainless steel, with a restaurant in the lobby and a Four Seasons Hotel.
Perhaps most importantly, it also had a slide.
Seen in the renderings, this serpentine feature twisted and turned through three floors. That detail stood out as much as any of the others. But the slide might be too good to be true.
While Comcast wouldn’t comment on the record for this story, Billy Penn has learned that this particular feature of the new tower is in doubt and not guaranteed to be included as part of the building’s final design. The slide — described by a source as just a concept — seems unlikely, though the building’s final design is yet to be determined.
The communications giant first shared plans for the officially-called “Comcast Innovation and Technology Center” last January. In a concept video featuring views of the rooms was this picture:
As you can see, there is a twisty slide that looks like a fantastic time (maybe you also could add water for it in the summer and a wave pool on the floor!).
Surprisingly enough, corporate slides aren’t unheard of, even in the Philadelphia region. AWeber, a marketing company based in Chalfont, features a slide that also twists, albeit for only one story, story-and-a-half tops. Several Google office buildings have slides, and arguably the top corporate slide in the world belongs to Electric Works of Sheffield, United Kingdom. It looks like something out of Space Mountain.
But Comcast might not be getting its own slice of Space Mountain. The new building is scheduled to be completed in three years. Right now it’s just a hole in the ground filled with 4,000 pounds of concrete.
