IRS to celebrate 30th Street move

It took over a year, but 5,000 IRS employees have finally set up shop in their new home, a five-floor, 862,692 square foot building located where the 30th Street Station post office once stood, a move which the IRS is celebrating with a ribbon-cutting Tuesday.

The $252 million renovation, overseen by Brandywine Realty, was completed last September. Employees have been relocating in phases since the fall.

"We are now fully functioning and operating," said IRS spokesperson Bill Pressman.

Working at a central location means that IRS employees can now more easily travel to work via public transit. Previously, many had to drive to their headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia - six buildings at 11601 Roosevelt Boulevard and a seventh nearby.

The increasing obsolescence of paper underlies the change. Pressman said that 70 percent of all tax returns were filed electronically in 2010.

"The buildings were essentially a warehouse model," said Pressman. "That kind of design was really outdated. We're in a computerized, automated mode now."

To get IRS help:

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/personal_finance/20110322_Free_help_available_for_income-tax_filers.html