Fill This Front: 9th and Chestnut

Northeast corner of 9th and Chestnut

                  I love this goddamn building. 833 Chestnut is a good old fashioned 1926 building that used to be part of the Gimbel's department store. The retail part of the building closed in 1986 and the rest stayed as class ZZZZ offices until 2000, when NYC's Property Asset Management Inc completed a $42 million upgrade that included a restoration of the storefronts/street level windows to their original appearance. The building was then purchased by Digital Realty in 2005 and they still own the building, marketing floors 9 and higher as a big-ass carrier hotel while leasing medical office space in the floors below. It has been highly successful ever since.
                The 1,754 square-foot retail space at the northeast corner of 9th and Chestnut, however, has been empty for 3 goddamn years. It last housed a shitty Quiznos, just like many other storefronts in Center City in the Twenty00's. Ever since, this high foot and auto traffic location hasn't been able to fill up. Of course, it would help if the space was even officially on the market. According to its loopnet listing, the space is "Off Market", so that doesn't fucking help. Think about it-- the sign in the window says "RETAIL","Prime Retail Corner", etc... then if anyone inquires about it, they'll find the dead Loopnet listing.
               Originally I was going to complain to you about all the empty fronts they also have on 9th Street, but I'm pretty certain that those windows are not storefronts but old Gimbel's display windows with nothing else behind them. Digital Realty's own profile of the building only describes the three retail spaces facing Chestnut Street. I could be wrong. If that's the case, there's even more retail space this fucker isn't filling. The corner space is more important anyway.
            Well folks, now's the time to fill this bastard. What excuse is left? Endless foot/auto traffic. Thousands of Jefferson Hospital and other office workers nearby. Close to Market 8, if that gets chosen as our new casino. With Century 21 and maybe Eataly coming along a block away, now's the fucking time to get rolling here.
            Digital Realty needs to get on this shit before the Ben Franklin across the street sops up all the potential tenants. That building, under its new management, has been to get DiBruno's and a coffee shop so far. Of course they haven't been able to fill their 9th/Chestnut corner space either, so maybe this corner is just cursed or something.

The storefront in 1959 when it was just a shitty display window. PhillyHistory.org, a project of the Department of Records.

                    So for you potential tenants out there, let me put it to you like this: This is a 1,754 square foot space on a high-traffic corner with large windows on two sides. It is located two blocks from the most connected transit hub in the city, linking it with literally hundreds of thousands of people without the need for them to get in a car. The space is directly below the iconic clock that 833 Chestnut uses as a symbol to represent itself. Thousands of people work every day in this immediate area, which holds not just this building, but hundreds of residential units across the street. The customers are there, you just need to give them something they need, which is a lot-- there's little else at this corner.
                  Digital Realty, get this sucker back on the market so something great can come here and make the rest of your building shine. My own personal fucking doctor works in this building... do it for him and all the other people who come here every goddamn day. Save Chestnut East and FILL THIS FRONT!!