This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in the Philadelphia Business Journal on April 21, 2015.  It is reposted on VISTA Today with the permission of Nicholas DiBenedictis, CEO & President of Aqua America.

Editor:

As the chair of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, I know firsthand how critical it is that Philadelphia be positioned as a technology and innovation center. The citywide conventions that help support more than 65,000 jobs in the city choose destinations based on what those cities have to offer.

Smart cities, those that are known as catalysts for change, will be the cities of choice for top conventions and meetings in all disciplines. They will also be known for their general quality of life as we move forward in an ever evolving world of enhanced technology.

We are proud to have a global Fortune 50 company like Comcast headquartered here in Philadelphia Comcast’s investment in this city has provided unprecedented economic activity and tax revenues. The building of the 1.2 million square-foot Comcast Center, as well as the plans for the new Innovation and Technology Center, has not only enhanced our skyline, it has enhanced job growth and civic pride. Comcast Corporation employs more than 6,000 people in the City and will add almost 3,000 new permanent local jobs when the new Comcast Innovation and Technology Center opens in Center City Philadelphia in the fall of 2017.

Comcast’s world-class, state-of-the-art technology and innovation center is the largest private investment building development project on record in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Having a presence like Comcast is a major reason why the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a premier organization serving educators and education leaders committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world, chose Philadelphia as the destination for its 2015 convention in June. These savvy delegates will have a specific interest in all things innovative in Philadelphia. We are proud that Comcast is here with us to welcome these important meeting technology educators.

Nicholas DiBenedictis
President & CEO
Aqua America

Editor’s note: Over 300 people work at one of Comcast’s 11 Chester County locations.