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A local developer took the first step yesterday toward building the tallest skyscraper in America when City Councilman Darrell Clarke introduced legislation for zoning changes needed at the 18th and Arch streets location.

Clarke's action came on the same week that Mayor Nutter laid out his goal to restore to the City Planning Commission the power to shape such developments. The councilman and the mayor agree the commission should run the show on the proposed skyscraper, which Walnut Street Capital has named the "American Commerce Center."

At 1,500 feet, the skyscraper would be more than 50 percent taller than the Comcast Center, which recently opened one block away. The Comcast Center takes up a full city block while the American Commerce Center would be built on a 1.5-acre half-block.
Clarke said the site's narrow footprint was one reason the developer chose to build so high.
That has prompted complaints from nearby businesses and the residents of high-rise buildings on John F. Kennedy Boulevard about traffic congestion, reduced parking since the site is now a parking lot, and the shadow a 1,500-foot skyscraper might throw over the neighborhood.
Clarke's legislation was introduced on the last day of Council before the start of the three-month summer break. While the developer can work with the city and neighbors over the summer, no action can be taken on the legislation until mid-September.
"This could be a wonderful opportunity to utilize this new process . . . for what could be one of the most incredible buildings built not just in Philadelphia but anywhere in the country," Nutter said after Council's meeting.