PA Horticultural Society Signed New 16-Year Office Lease
The organization downsized its footprint and mandated a three-day in-office schedule to consolidate operations.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Remote Work
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The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has committed to a 16-year lease at 1900 Market Street, moving its roughly 100 employees from its longtime home at 100 North 20th Street. The shift marks a strategic consolidation of space and a move to mandate in-office attendance for staff.
Why it matters
The move reflects a push to centralize staff into a single suite, moving away from a split-floor layout to better facilitate a required three-day weekly in-office schedule. This transition highlights a broader trend of organizations rightsizing physical real estate to support hybrid workplace policies.
The organization is moving from 31,000 square feet to 18,000 square feet, marking a 42% reduction in total office footprint. The new 16-year lease ends a 30-year residency at the organization's prior address.
The players
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
A long-standing non-profit organization that manages local horticultural programming and organizes the annual Flower Show.
Brandywine Realty Trust
A major real estate investment trust that owns and manages commercial properties, including the office building at 1900 Market Street.
The details
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is abandoning its two-floor, 31,000-square-foot office for a more efficient 18,000-square-foot space in the former Philadelphia Stock Exchange building. By consolidating the 100-person staff onto one floor, the organization aims to streamline operations as it shifts toward a mandatory three-day weekly in-office cadence. This structural change is designed to better integrate hybrid work teams that have operated under flexible schedules since 2022.
Timeline
Employees began working on a hybrid schedule in 2022.
The organization will require in-office attendance three days weekly starting in spring 2027.
The organization will mark its 200th anniversary in 2027.
Market Landscape
This move follows the industry trend toward post-2020 hybrid work models where organizations prioritize collaborative space efficiency over total footprint. It echoes shifts in local commercial real estate where tenants are trading expansive, multi-floor offices for tighter, centralized layouts.
Operators managing physical offices should evaluate whether their floor plans still serve current hybrid attendance patterns. Rightsizing office space requires balancing long-term lease commitments against the necessity of in-person collaboration days.
The takeaway
Organizations looking to manage overhead should view physical footprint consolidation as a primary tool for supporting hybrid culture. Audit your current office layout against actual weekly attendance metrics to determine if you are paying for unused capacity.
Further reading
For more on evolving office requirements, see our analysis on Remote Work.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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