How developer Chuck Block made 2401 Walnut Street a tech hub

Chuck Block was clear on the rules: no carpet, no dropped ceilings, keep views of the city intact.

It wasn’t a typical developer move, but it was part of Block’s mission to make the eight-story 2401 Walnut Street a non-traditional office space, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. In the last five years, a number of tech businesses have chosen to open an office there, including Curalate, Poptent and sustainable-minded coworking space CityCoHo.

It’s not easy to find office space like the ones found in 2401 Walnut Street, said realtor Dan Gummel, who has made finding Philly tech startups his domain. But Block, who lives in Los Angeles where non-traditional office space is ubiquitous, told Technically Philly that he believes Philadelphia developers will soon catch on.