Burlington Stores to Relocate HQ to Philly
The retail giant is buying an office building from Brandywine Realty Trust.
Burlington Stores Inc. has announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to Philadelphia from its current location in Burlington Township, N.J. The company will acquire 3151 Market Street in West Philadelphia from current owner Brandywine Realty Trust.
The transaction amount was not disclosed.
The 14-story property, completed in 2024, totals 435,000 square feet, including retail space on the ground floor, and is part of Schuylkill Yards, a 14-acre district developed by Brandywine in partnership with Drexel University. The project includes office and life science space, along with residential and retail components.
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The commonwealth of Pennsylvania puts the total investment associated with Burlington’s move at $380 million, which will involve about 2,000 employees transferring to the new location gradually, beginning in 2028. Burlington is receiving a $20 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant and a $10 million Pennsylvania First grant from the commonwealth.
The city of Philadelphia is also providing incentives for the move, including a $7 million forgivable loan and a Job Creation Tax Credit award. SEPTA and the Philadelphia Parking Authority will provide deeply discounted commuter passes for new Burlington employees in the city.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called the deal “one of the largest corporate relocations ever in the commonwealth” at an event in the lobby of 3151 Market Street.
Burlington plans to rezone its current headquarters on U.S. Route 130 for warehouse space and turn some of the property into farmland, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The company will otherwise maintain a sizable presence in New Jersey in the form of warehouse and distribution centers in Burlington, Edgewater Park, Florence, and Logan Township.
Burlington operates about 1,300 stores in 47 states, including more than 43 in the Philadelphia area.
A C-PACE record holder
In January, Brandywine received $87.3 million in C-PACE financing for 3151 Market Street, marking the largest C-PACE financing in Pennsylvania history and the first for a publicly traded REIT. Nuveen Green Capital originated the financing.
C-PACE stands for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, which provides flexible financing for new, ongoing or recently completed commercial real estate projects. The financing can be used for a variety of purposes, including to fund energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy projects or resiliency projects. In Pennsylvania, the financing is administered by the Philadelphia Energy Authority through its C-PACE financing program.
In the case of the Brandywine’s property, the C-PACE financing was for upgrades to the building envelope, lighting and HVAC systems, and water conservation measures, among other uses. By using C-PACE to recapitalize the project post-completion, Brandywine aimed to preserve liquidity while supporting sustainable building development.
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