The Pittsburgh office market has experienced significant new development over the last five years, particularly in the urban and downtown fringe submarkets. This is expected to continue in the coming years, with several new developments that are currently in planning or under construction. Historically, urban office supply in Pittsburgh has been constrained due to the economic hurdles of new development. With limited sites for new projects, land costs at a premium and significant site work required, Pittsburgh’s nominal rent growth did not allow for economically viable projects. However, rent growth in recent years has led to a new wave of development, which has accommodated companies moving to Pittsburgh along with existing businesses growing and/or relocating within the market. Most of the new office development has taken place in urban submarkets surrounding downtown, including the Strip District, Oakland, East Liberty and the North Shore. These submarkets have attracted more development than the CBD due to greater availability of development sites, as well as lower construction costs. Development Pockets Total development costs of Class A office buildings on the fringe of the CBD are generally $250 to $300 per square foot. For this project cost, gross rents in the range of $30 …
PHILADELPHIA — FCP, a Maryland-based investment firm, has acquired Edgewater, a 286-unit apartment community located at 2323 Race St. in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, for $117.9 million. Edgewater offers a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a 24-hour fitness center with a yoga studio, resident lounge and hospitality center and a children’s play area. The sale includes land for additional development. Erin Miller and Lizann McGowan of Newmark Knight Frank represented the seller, an institutional investor advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, in the transaction.
HERSHEY, PA. — HREC Investment Advisors has brokered the sale of a 110-room Hampton Inn & Suites located in Hershey, an eastern suburb of Harrisburg. Kenan Patel and Kevin Hanley of HREC handled the sale on behalf of the buyer and seller, both of which requested anonymity. Greg Porter of HREC arranged an acquisition loan for the transaction that carried a 10-year term, a 72.6 percent loan-to-cost ratio and a fixed interest rate of 4.35 percent.
MORGANTOWN, PA. — Penn National Gaming Inc., an owner-operator of gaming and racing facilities, has received licensing approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and will soon begin construction on a $111 million casino in Morgantown. The property will be built on 36 acres at the intersection of I-76, I-176 and State Route 10 and located roughly midway between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The casino will span 80,000 square feet and offer 750 slot machines and 30 game tables, a sports book, restaurant, food hall and entertainment lounge. The project, which carries an 18-month construction schedule, is expected to create 250 new jobs at the casino and 275 construction jobs.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — Marcus & Millichap has relocated its office in the western Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood to 200 N. Warner Road in King of Prussia. Sean Beuche, regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Philadelphia office, will oversee the new operation, which is currently manned by eight agents.
PHILADELPHIA — HFF has negotiated the sale of a 50,000-square-foot medical office building located at 1740 South St. in the Rittenhouse Square submarket of Philadelphia. The property, which was 97 percent leased at the time of sale, is situated adjacent to the Penn Medicine Rittenhouse campus, which includes a 96-bed hospital. Ben Appel, Evan Kovac, Andrew Milne and Zachary Drozda of HFF represented the seller, a partnership between Tennessee-based Chestnut Funds and investment firm Anchor Health Properties.
PHILADELPHIA — Developer Chris Todd is nearing completion of The View at Old City, a 216-unit multifamily project in Philadelphia that is valued at $90 million. Located at the corner of Fourth and Race streets, the community is being developed at the site of the former home of Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who designed the first official American flag and first U.S. coin. The property will offer a variety of different types of pet-friendly, open floor plans, from studios to two-bedroom units ranging from 441 square feet to 1,257 square feet. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center with a yoga studio, media room, outdoor grilling area, package locker service and a dog park. The View at Old City is expected to be available for occupancy in August.
PHILADELPHIA — JLL’s Capital Markets group has arranged an undisclosed amount of permanent financing on behalf of Alliance Partners HSP, which owns the leasehold interest in the SoNo commercial building in Philadelphia. Located at 456 N. Fifth St., the 186,000-square-foot former warehouse property was fully leased at the time of the loan closing to tenants such as Yards Brewing Co. (70,000 square feet), the City of Philadelphia Archives Dept. (68,000 square feet) and Target (48,000 square feet). Tristate Capital Bank provided the loan to Alliance, which acquired the property in 2015 and recently completed its redevelopment in 2017. Chad Orcutt of JLL placed the debt.
BENSALEM, PA. — NAI Mertz has negotiated the sale of a 7,140-square-foot building in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, located northeast of Philadelphia. The property is located along the Bristol Pike and includes office, retail and industrial space. Joe Sternberg, Adam Lashner and Jeffrey Licht of NAI Mertz represented the seller, Medimpex Holdings LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
CLIFTON HEIGHTS, PA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a 718-unit self-storage facility in Clifton Heights, a western suburb of Philadelphia. The property comprises 82,116 rentable square feet with 590 climate-controlled units and 128 non-climate-controlled units. Units range from 18 to 320 square feet. Mike Mele, Robert Bloch and Noah Obuchowski of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, an affiliate of Vertical Fields Capital LLC, in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed. CubeSmart has been retained as a third-party manager. More than 200,000 people with an average household income in excess of $80,000 live within a three-mile radius of the property.