PPL has announced that it is moving its headquarters out of the iconic skyscraper that has becoming a feature of the Allentown skyline.
PPL said on Thursday that it will relocate its corporate headquarters from its current complex at 2 North Ninth St., which includes the 24-story PPL Tower Building.
According to a news release, PPL expects to move this fall to Two City Center, located at 645 Hamilton St. The company has signed a 20-year lease and plans to occupy around 107,000 square feet of space in the new location.
PPL said it will initiate a process to sell and repurpose the current headquarters complex.
In a statement, PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi said while the current complex and PPL Building have served the company’s needs for decades, the new Two City Center location is better suited to support current and future workforce needs.
“We have been proud to call Allentown home for a century and, with the signing of a 20-year lease, plan to remain part of the city’s growth story for years to come,” Sorgi said, also emphasizing that the company is as “committed as ever to downtown Allentown.”
“We look forward to remaining a steady presence in the city, to engaging as we have for years to build a stronger community, and to keeping our corporate headquarters here as we create the utilities of the future in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia and Rhode Island.”
He added that the move would optimize PPL’s real estate use and reduce overall costs to customers.
The release said the location change also coincides with PPL’s plans to bring over 400 headquarter employees back into the office.
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk said in a Facebook post Thursday that the PPL Building is the city's "most iconic structure," calling it "quintessential Allentown."
Tuerk wrote that he was sad to hear PPL would no longer work out of the tower, but said he was happy to hear that the company would still work in the city where it has had a "century-long commitment."
He also said the building will "host a second act that will knock your socks off."
The PPL Building was completed in 1928 and, according to the company’s website, the art-deco style building inspired the design of Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The 322-foot-tall skyscraper is the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley following the demolition of the 332-foot-tall Martin Tower, headquarters of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp., in 2019.
(Original air-date: 6/8/23)
