Now that the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustments has turned down Unisys’ request for its skyscraper logos lets find a way to keep them in Center City. I applaud the decision by ZBA because, the fact is, having the Unisys signs on the 37th and 38th floor looked ridiculous. But that doesn’t mean the ZBA or the residents at Two Liberty Place are anti-Unisys.

The Blue Bell, PA based company now says they are reconsidering whether to move its headquarters to Center City. Unisys has already signed a ten-year lease but they could sub-lease it or worse break the lease and pay the penalty. That’s not what should happen. Its lease begins January 2009 and the company says because of the logo debate has caused enough delays that there is no way the renovations at Two Liberty could be done before then. So at best Unisys needs more time.

At stake are 220 jobs that pay around $186,000 a year that might not move into our city limits. We need those jobs and the economic benefit that comes with them. So I urge Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter when he gets back from the Democratic National Convention, he begin exploring any ways the city could provide a small financial assistance package that would cover the lease for a few months in early 2009 while renovations could be completed.

I don’t advocate throwing money at every business considering a move to Philadelphia, but the logo debate was a necessary discussion of community-wide interest. Now let’s move on and roll out a red carpet and find a way to welcome our newest corporate neighbor to Center City.

photo credit: wallyg @ flickr