The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is not leaving One Penn Center after all.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will remain at One Penn Center following a 10-year lease renewal.
Six months after it was announced that the agency’s office on 16th Street and JFK Boulevard would be shuttered as part of the Department of Government Efficiency push, the General Services Administration has reversed course.
The agency that manages federal real estate nationwide has signed a 10-year lease renewal, according to an Aug. 25 staff email from SEC Chairman Paul Atkins reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by Bisnow. He noted that the GSA reversed a similar decision to nix a Los Angeles SEC office lease.
“I appreciate GSA’s partnership in ensuring the SEC has appropriate, cost-effective space to meet its mission in these locations and around the country,” Atkins wrote.
Henry Gross, whose family owns One Penn Center, confirmed the renewal to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“This is a big win for the SEC, for Philadelphia, and for One Penn Center,” he said.
The agency will continue to occupy 44K SF in the 88% occupied 20-story art deco office tower above Suburban Station.
The previous lease terms, including $1.2M in annual rent, will remain in place, Gross said. He characterized that as below market rate. A smaller 4K SF lease for the International Trade Commission may still be cut as part of an efficiency push, the landlord said.
The now-reversed decision to vacate One Penn Center came after the SEC requested $500K of upgrades before President Donald Trump was elected in 2024, which the landlord complied with at the time.
The SEC declined Bisnow’s request for comment, while the GSA didn’t immediately respond.
Several other Philly federal properties were listed for sale in March, including the U.S. Custom House in Old City and the Mid-Atlantic Social Security Center in Northern Liberties.
The early phases of the DOGE push were helmed by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has since stepped down from the federal government.