BETHLEHEM, PA. — Berkadia has negotiated the sale of Birchwood Commons, a newly constructed, 96-unit multifamily community in Bethlehem, a city about 50 miles north of Philadelphia. The property was completed in 2018 and features one- and two-bedroom floor plans averaging 933 square feet. Matt Stefanski, Zac Pierce, Alan Krawitz and Christopher Farmer of Berkadia represented the seller, local developer Ashley Development Corp., in the transaction, and procured the buyer, Philadelphia-based Halfpenny Management Co. Stephen Comly of Berkadia secured acquisition financing through Investors Bank.
CA Student Living Begins Construction on $86M Student Housing Project in State College, Pennsylvania
STATE COLLEGE, PA. — CA Student Living has begun construction on HERE at State College, an $86 million, 227-unit student housing property located one block from Penn State University. The 12-story complex will feature more than 700 beds and house 30,000 square feet of retail space on the lower two levels. The general contractor is Missouri-based Brinkmann Constructors, and the architect is Shepley Bulfinch. HERE at State College is expected to open in fall 2020.
PITTSBURGH — A joint venture between Pinecrest and Cardinal Group has completed construction on The Bridge on Forbes, a 473-bed student housing property in Pittsburgh. The community offers fully furnished studio-, one-, two- and three-bedroom units to students attending the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Carlow University. Shared amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, an outdoor deck with grilling stations and fire pits, collaboration rooms, a coffee bar and lounge and retail space occupied by Arby’s and Bank of America. The property is fully leased for the upcoming academic year.
EXTON, PA. — Wolfson Group Inc., a Pennsylvania-based developer, has broken ground on Ashbridge, a 420,000-square-foot multifamily property in Exton, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia. The property comprises six buildings with 410 total units, including one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The newly renovated Ashbridge House mansion, also on the property, will be utilized for amenities including a fitness center, lounge and event space. The architect is Philadelphia-based Bernardon. Bozzuto Group will manage the property, which is slated to open in spring 2020.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Eli Court, an 88-unit workforce housing property in Philadelphia, for $4.3 million. The property offers studio and one-bedroom units and access to public transit. Fred Paisley of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a locally based private real estate company, in the transaction, as well as the buyer, a limited liability company.
PITTSBURGH — Amazon will construct a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in Pittsburgh, a move that will create 800 new full-time jobs. The property will be Amazon’s 15th operations facility in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Amazon will invest $30 million in the facility and that once the jobs are in place, Amazon will receive $1.6 million in job creation tax credits from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Hillwood, a Fort Worth-based industrial firm, will lead the development of the project, a construction timeline for which has not yet been established.
BETHLEHEM, PA. — Rittenhouse Realty Advisors has brokered the $21.4 million sale of a student housing portfolio located near Lehigh University in Bethlehem, a town near the eastern border of Pennsylvania. The portfolio consists of 44 properties totaling 219 beds. The buyer in the transaction was an undisclosed family office new to the student housing market. The seller was also undisclosed.
LIMERICK, PA. — RedGo Development has broken ground on a 25,000-square-foot office property in Limerick, a city located northwest of Philadelphia. The property will serve as the new headquarters of Maillie LLP, an accounting firm operating in the northeast. Avison Young is the construction manager; Customers Bank is the lender; D2 Groups is the designer; and Fickler Construction is the general contractor. Construction is underway and slated for completion in the summer of 2020.
HARRISBURG, PA. — Realterm Logistics, a Maryland-based investment firm, has acquired a 311,000-square-foot distribution facility in Harrisburg. Built on 52 acres in 2004, the property features 37-foot clear heights, 99 dock-high doors, six drive-in doors and immediate access to I-76, I-83 and I-81. Brandon Moghimi and Brad Feller of Stan Johnson Co. represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The property was fully leased at the time of sale.
PITTSBURGH — The vitamin and health supplement niche of the brick-and-mortar retail market continues to experience intense competitive pressure, observes veteran retail consultant Jeff Green. So it came as no surprise to Green when GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNC) officials revealed in a second-quarter earnings call earlier this week that it will shutter up to 900 stores in North America by the end of 2020. “It used to be that specialty health supplements were only found in specialty stores such as GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and other regional chains,” says Green, a partner at Phoenix-based Hoffman Strategy Group. “Now you can find the same products sold at traditional supermarkets, specialty food stores and discount department stores.” Citing a decrease in mall traffic over time, Tricia Tolivar, CFO of Pittsburgh-based GNC, said during the earnings call Monday that the company could close up to 500 of its 800 stores that are currently located in malls across the United States and Canada. Ken Martindale, CEO of GNC, added that 28 percent of the company’s stores are situated in malls, while 61 percent are in strip centers. “The negative trends in traffic that we’ve seen in mall stores over the past several years have accelerated …