Burlington Stores to move headquarters to Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Burlington Stores is moving its corporate headquarters out of its namesake New Jersey county and into Philadelphia.

The Fortune 500 company is buying 3151 Market St. — part of the Schuylkill Yards development in University City. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the $370 million investment will bring 2,000 new jobs to the city over the next five years.

The state assisted the move with $30 million in economic development grants. The City of Philadelphia is also providing a $7 million forgivable loan and a Job Creation Tax Credit award.

In addition, SEPTA and the Philadelphia Parking Authority will offer discounted commuter rates for new Burlington employees.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker called Burlington’s move a “big win” for the city. Shapiro said it was one of the largest corporate relocations ever in Pennsylvania.

Burlington Stores CEO Michael O’Sullivan said the main attractions were the availability of mass transit, a deep talent pool of recent college graduates, and the mayor’s and governor’s pitch.

“They described this vision that was very compelling in terms of just being very interested in economic development, and then this beautiful building was available,” he said.

The 440,000-square-foot building is part of the Schuylkill Yards development. It will accommodate 1,600 current employees who will transfer from the old headquarters, plus several hundred new hires when the company moves in over the next couple of years.

Burlington is one of the fastest-growing retailers in America, operating 1,300 stores in 47 states, including 43 stores in the greater Philadelphia area.