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Historic Old City Building Rededicated After $30-Million Renovation

By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The ribbon was cut today on a $30-million project to renovate the US Custom House in Philadelphia.

After a trio sang the National Anthem in the ornate third-floor Tax Court, US congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.) called the 2½-year-long project an investment in the future.

"I know how vitally important it is that we continue to make investments in a whole range of issues, but none more than our infrastructure related to retrofitting and greening our federal buildings," he said today.

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The 17-story building was constructed in the 1930s, and project manager Brian Muller says it's now energy-efficient.

"We replaced 1,200 windows," he tells KYW Newsradio.  "It was masonry restoration, and a major accomplishment was that we installed a green roof."

The building, at Second and Chestnut Streets, houses federal offices.

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