Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis announced today that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has secured a major economic expansion agreement with Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN). Under the terms of the agreement, the global lifestyle retail portfolio will invest at least $150 million in capital to expand its operations in Philadelphia and Bucks County, a move projected to create a minimum of 1,050 new jobs.
The capital investment is split between the company’s corporate infrastructure and its apparel rental subscription subsidiary, Nuuly. In Philadelphia, URBN has committed to adding at least 450 new positions at its corporate headquarters located in the Navy Yard, coinciding with the opening of a new 117,000-square-foot office facility known as Building 16.
Additionally, the retailer will construct a state-of-the-art fulfillment and logistics hub in Falls Township to support its Nuuly brand, bringing an estimated 600 jobs to Bucks County. The state agreement stipulates that URBN must maintain its current employment levels at its existing distribution centers in Lancaster and Indiana counties.
The agreement also leaves room for potential scaling, with URBN indicating it may deploy an additional $50 million in capital investments that could increase subsequent hiring numbers. To secure the expansion within the state, the Commonwealth extended state-level Keystone Opportunity Zone benefits to the retailer.
URBN, which was founded in West Philadelphia in 1970, operates a portfolio that includes Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement, and Terrain. The company relocated its primary headquarters to the Navy Yard in 2006, investing over $100 million to date to renovate historic shipyard structures. The campus has since expanded from five buildings to fifteen, while its local workforce has grown from 500 to more than 2,500 employees.
“Our relationship with the state has been vital to our success, and we look forward to creating more jobs and continuing our investment in Pennsylvania,” URBN Chief Executive Officer Richard A. Hayne said in a statement.
The transaction is part of a broader push by the Shapiro administration to attract private-sector investment to the state. According to administration figures, Pennsylvania has secured more than $41 billion in private-sector commitments since Governor Shapiro took office. Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the Commonwealth ranks third nationally in overall job growth, a point the administration has leveraged to support its 2026–27 budget proposal targeting additional economic development funding and site-readiness programs.
