PHILADELPHIA – Burlington Stores, Inc., a Fortune 500 retailer with more than 1,200 stores across 47 states, today announced alongside Governor Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker that it will make Philadelphia its new corporate home, acquiring 3151 Market Street in University City for a headquarters expected to open in Fiscal Year 2027.
The move represents approximately $370 million in private investment. Burlington expects to relocate existing employees to Philadelphia and grow its workforce to as many as 2,000 full-time jobs within three to five years, with an average annual salary of approximately $125,000.
“Burlington’s decision to make Philadelphia its new corporate home is a powerful vote of confidence in our city, our people and the momentum we are building,” said Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “This move will bring up to 2,000 good jobs with family-sustaining wages to Philadelphia, while growing the number of Fortune 500 companies that call our city home. Those employees will become part of the daily life of Philadelphia. They will ride SEPTA, support our restaurants and small businesses, enjoy our neighborhoods and world-class attractions, and contribute to the energy of our city every day.
“Burlington is also already our neighbor, with eight stores serving communities across Philadelphia. So, this feels like more than a relocation. It feels like a homecoming. Philadelphia is OPEN for business, and we are proud to welcome Burlington’s corporate headquarters home to One Philly, a United City.”
“We are very excited to be relocating our corporate headquarters to Philadelphia,” said Michael O’Sullivan, CEO of Burlington Stores. “We found the vision and priorities articulated by the Mayor and the Governor extremely compelling — fiscal health, education and training, and economic opportunity for all. We look forward to supporting and being part of that vision.”
How Philadelphia worked to land the deal
The Philadelphia Department of Commerce worked closely with Burlington, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and other partners as the company evaluated its headquarters relocation, serving as a primary point of entry into City government and helping coordinate resources across agencies.
The City is supporting the project with an $8 million economic development package, including a $7 million high-impact forgivable loan and $1 million through SEPTA Key Advantage to help provide Burlington employees with unlimited transit passes for one year.
“This is exactly the kind of investment we are working every day to attract to Philadelphia,” said Karen Fegely, Acting Director of Commerce. “Our Business Development team worked closely with Burlington throughout this process, connecting the company to the right people, resources and opportunities. Philadelphia has the talent, transit, institutions and business ecosystem companies need to grow, and our job is to make it easier for them to choose Philadelphia and succeed here.”
Burlington will also work with the City’s Career Connected Learning team to engage and prepare future workers and help create pathways for Philadelphians to access employment opportunities as the company grows.
Working at the Speed of Business
Burlington will become the fifth major project supported through PHL PRIME, Project Review and Infrastructure Made Easy, the Parker Administration’s coordinated approach to advancing high-impact projects that create quality jobs and transformative investment.
The PHL PRIME portfolio also includes:
- Hanwha Philly Shipyard, investing $5 billion and expected to create more than 7,000 jobs.
- TerraPower Isotopes, investing $450 million and projected to create 225 full-time jobs.
- DrinkPAK, investing $350 million and planning to create 175 full-time jobs.
- Rhoads Industries, investing nearly $100 million, creating at least 450 new jobs and retaining 541 existing positions.
Together with Burlington, these projects represent billions of dollars in private investment and thousands of jobs tied to Philadelphia’s future growth.
PHL PRIME brings together the Mayor’s Office, Department of Commerce, Department of Planning and Development, and Managing Director’s Office to help facilitate the regulatory and permitting process and coordinate City action to advance large and complex economic development projects.
“Burlington is exactly why we created PHL PRIME,” said Pat Christmas, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Policy Planning and Delivery, “PHL PRIME gets the right people around the table to work with the business and across City departments to keep high-impact projects moving on their target timeline. This is what working at the speed of business looks like.”
Burlington’s move will also increase the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Philadelphia.
It builds on recent business growth that includes Chubb’s approximately $380 million Philadelphia office, Bonduelle’s new U.S. Growth Hub, and 56 major attraction and retention wins in 2025 that helped retain or create more than 10,000 jobs.
That momentum is central to the Parker Administration’s PHL Open for Business strategy: making City government easier to navigate and helping companies start, stay, grow and invest in Philadelphia.