PHILADELPHIA — Agree Realty Corp., a Michigan-based publicly traded REIT, has acquired the 11,500-square-foot flagship store of Wawa’s, a chain of gas stations and convenience stores serving the East Coast, for approximately $15 million. The store is situated within the 13-story Public Ledger Building, located adjacent to Independence Hall in the Center City area of Philadelphia. The store is the largest of the Wawa’s chain and includes a bakery, merchandise and an expanded selection of the company’s reserve coffee products. The seller was not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has signed a 54,000-square-foot office lease expansion at the Wanamaker building, a 1.4 million-square-foot office and retail property located in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia. Following this transaction, CHOP will occupy more than 300,000 square feet across six floors. The building owner, a partnership between Rubenstein Partners LP and Amerimar Enterprises Inc., is entering the final phase of a capital improvement program for the building, which was originally built in 1911 to house Wanamaker’s, one of America’s first department stores.
LANCASTER, PA. — Presbyterian Senior Living (PSL) will build LongCrest, a $19 million affordable seniors housing apartment complex in Lancaster, located roughly midway between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. A groundbreaking ceremony for the four-acre, 52-unit project is slated for today (Tuesday, May 14). Units will be available to residents earning between 20 to 60 percent of the area median income. LongCrest will also offer both fully handicap-accessible units, as well as units that are accessible for individuals with hearing and/or vision difficulties.
PITTSBURGH — LG Realty Advisors, a privately held development and management firm, has unveiled plans for Liberty East, a $50 million office and retail project in Pittsburgh. Liberty East, which is a redevelopment of the nine-story Penn Plaza building, will ultimately house 246,000 square feet of Class A office space with a 50,000-square-foot retail space on the ground floor that will be occupied by Whole Foods Market. The development will also include an additional 4,600 square feet of retail space and 700 parking spaces. Construction of Phase I of the project, which also includes a $1 million contribution to the upgrading of nearby Enright Park, is expected to begin this summer and wrap up in summer 2021.
PHILADELPHIA — Colliers International has negotiated a 200,000-square-foot industrial lease at 7601 State Road in northeast Philadelphia for JAKO Enterprises, an urban footwear and apparel company. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built in 1968 on 8.3 acres and offers proximity to I-95. JAKO Enterprises will relocate its regional warehousing and distribution operations from 12000 Roosevelt Blvd., a site that formerly served as a baking facility for Nabisco. Richard Gorodesky of Colliers represented JAKO Enterprises, which operates 64 stores throughout the mid-Atlantic region, in the lease negotiations. Pennsylvania-based Roddy Inc. represented the undisclosed landlord.
SEWICKLEY, PA. — A joint venture between Washington, D.C.-based ASB Real Estate Investments and an affiliate of Endurance Real Estate Group LLC has acquired a 408,000-square-foot industrial complex in Sewickley, roughly 10 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, for $38 million. The seven-building complex was 99 percent leased at the time of sale to companies such as Amazon, Verizon and Chrysler. CBRE represented the seller, Bentall Kennedy, a subsidiary of Sun Life Investment Management, in the transaction. The sale included three undeveloped parcels for future expansion.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — German discount grocer Aldi will open a 19,230-square-foot store at 197 E. Dekalb Pike in Montgomery County, Pa., this spring. The retail property will be situated at the 119,000-square-foot King of Prussia Center, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Jeffrey Cohen and Nelson Wax of CBRE represented the landlord, D&P Associates, in the lease negotiations. The family-owned business developed the mall beginning in the 1980s.
YORK, PA. — New Jersey-based Larken Associates has acquired The Reserve at Copper Chase, a 132-unit apartment community in York, a southern suburb of Harrisburg. The property was 90 percent occupied at the time of sale and offered amenities such as a pool and a playground. The new ownership will expand the community by an additional 107 units and rebrand it as Larken Luxury Living Community. As part of the expansion, Larken plans to add a new clubhouse, fitness center and upgrades to units’ floors, cabinets, appliances and plumbing fixtures. The seller was not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 44,500-square-foot office building located at 5548 Chestnut St. in west Philadelphia. The property, which sold for $5.8 million, is situated near multiple public transit lines. Fred Paisley of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company that acquired the property in 2006, in the transaction. Paisley also secured the buyer, another limited liability company.
HATFIELD, PENN. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $8.5 million sale of Applegate Apartments, a 72-unit complex located in Hatfield, Penn., and Applecore Apartments, a 12-unit property located in nearby Souderton. Both properties are located about 40 miles north of Philadelphia. Andrew Townsend, Clark Talone, Ridge MacLaren and Daniel Bernard of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, a limited liability company, in the transaction. The seller was a family trust. Both parties requested anonymity.