While construction is not yet complete on Comcast’s $1.5 billion, 60-story Technology Center in Philadelphia, the company has already began moving employees into the building and has begun giving tours to local press.

As detailed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which walked through the building with new tenant Brian Roberts—the Comcast chief executive owns a penthouse condo—Comcast has already relocated 1,000 of its employees into the new high rise, the highest in the city. Comcast expects to have around 4,000 employees working in the building by December.

Related: New Comcast Tech Tower Running Up to $67M Over Budget

Like many big construction projects, there were hiccups—MCN reported in April that the project was behind schedule and $67 million over budget, for example.

But Roberts sees the building as a kind of Silicon Valley oasis in the heart of Philly.

"A lot of the heart and soul [of Comcast] is in this building, in this town," said Roberts, leading local reporters through an hour long tour. "No one has tried to build a technology center in the heart of an East Coast city," he added.

Comcast began work on the building back in 2014, commissioning UK architect Norman Foster, who also designed Apple Inc.'s new Silicon Valley headquarters. 

The $1.5 billion Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia is running as much as $67 million over budget, stemming from cost overruns incurred by L.F. Driscoll, the project’s general contractor.

That’s according to an 8-K filed by Liberty Property Trust, the new building’s developer that also owns 20% of The Comcast Technology Center via a joint venture with Comcast.

Citing details noted in its 2017 Annual Report, Liberty Property Trust said it had been notified by the contractor about the cost overruns and additional construction costs connected with completing the project.

RELATED: Inspection of Comcast’s New Tech Tower Won’t Slow Completion Plans

“Recently, the contractor advised the Company that it currently believes that these costs could total as much as $67 million in excess of the guaranteed maximum price payable to the contractor under the GMP [Guaranteed Maximum Price] Contracts,” Liberty Property Trust noted. “The Company intends to vigorously pursue all remedies to enforce the third-party contractor’s obligations under the GMP Contracts and to seek to recover any amounts expended by the Company or the joint ventures in excess of their contractual obligations."

Comcast announced plans for the new structure, located at 1800 Arch Street, in early 2014. At 1,121 feet and 60 stories, the Comcast Technology Center will complement and rise above the Comcast Center.

RELATED: Comcast Sets Plan For New, Taller Tower in Philly

In addition to serving as a technology hub for Comcast, the building will also include a Four Seasons hotel (with 200-plus rooms) and provide the studio and office operations of NBC 10/WCAU and Telemundo 62/WWSI. The building will contain 1.8 million square feet of space, including 1.3 million square feet of office space, more than 200,000 square feet of hotel space, and about 3,770 square feet of retail space.

A Liberty Property official told Philly.com that the cost overruns would not alter current plans to have the Comcast Technology Center offices open this summer, and the hotel to open in late fall.

“Our top priority is completing this magnificent project and work is proceeding without interruption. This issue will not affect the project’s delivery,” the official told Philly.com, characterizing this as a “contractual issue” between Liberty Property Trust and the general contractor. 

An inspection for possible cracks in metal being used near the top of the new Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia isn’t expected to affect the planned completion date of the structure.

Philly.com first reported that Liberty Property Trust, the new building’s developer, was conducting inspections of the steel being used for the upper-most portion of the building.

“This is not a material issue,” John Gattuso, Liberty Property Trust’s regional director, told Multichannel News, noting that the inspections and any potential repairs won’t delay the plan to complete the project by summer 2018.

RELATED: Comcast Sets Plan For New, Taller Tower In Philly

“This this will not have any impact on the occupancy,” he added, noting that the first two phases of the project have been delivered on-schedule, and that the anticipated timing for the three remaining phases is still on track.

RELATED: New Comcast Tower Project Moves Ahead 

Gattuso confirmed that the inspection reported by Philly.com centers on the galvanized steel used for the “lantern” at the top of the structure.

Steel used there is reheated and covered with zinc, and the process can sometimes cause “indications” in the form of small cracks in the galvanizing or the steel. He said they are easily repaired without impacting the structural integrity of the steel.

The current inspection essentially X-rays each of the 5,200 welds at the top of the building, with about 35 showing evidence of any aforementioned indications.

“It’s from an overabundance of caution that we have gone back up,” he said. “As we’re finding [those indications], they’re being repaired.”

Costs for the inspection and any other associated costs will be borne by SteelFab Inc., the Charlotte, N.C.-based supplier of the steel, Philly.com said.

Comcast announced plans for the new structure in early 2014.

At 1,121 feet and 60 stories, the $1.5 billion Comcast Technology Center will complement and rise above the Comcast Center.

In addition to serving as a technology hub for Comcast, the building will also include a Four Seasons hotel (with 200-plus rooms) and provide the studio and office operations of NBC 10/WCAU and Telemundo 62/WWSI.