The Pittsburgh industrial market has historically been a relatively small property sector due to several limiting factors, including difficult topography, infrastructure constraints and Pittsburgh’s location between two major industrial markets (Columbus to the west and Pennsylvania’s Central Valley to the east). However, with the emergence of e-commerce fulfillment centers, the growth of the Pittsburgh economy and major infrastructure improvements, we are starting to see strong demand for well-located industrial properties in the region. The size of the industrial market for the greater Pittsburgh metro is 185 million square feet. of which, 23.6 million square feet is flex and 161.1 million square feet is warehouse. Flex vacancy rate is currently 9.4 percent with 98,000 square feet under construction while warehouse vacancy is 5.8 percent with 263,000 square feet under construction. Based upon the tight vacancy and limited new construction in the warehouse space, there is believed to be significant pent-up demand, particularly for Class A users requiring 250,000 to 500,000 square feet. Accordingly, there are a number of planned speculative projects in this size range in the Airport, Butler County and Beaver County submarkets breaking ground in 2018. Lenders in the region are also bullish on the strength of the Pittsburgh …
ALLENTOWN, PA. — The Markward Group has arranged the sale of 211 Lloyd Street, an 18,086-square-foot industrial facility located on 2.26 acres in Allentown. The sales price was not disclosed. Chip Miers of Markward Group represented the seller, Kay Louise Krapf, in the transaction. The buyer, Serfass Development and Acquisitions, was represented by Ann Kline of Markward Group. The building has been in use as a truck terminal and service repair garage for Ransome CAT. Prior to the sale, the property was leased to ABLE Equipment Rental Inc. ABLE is a supplier of construction equipment rentals and plans to open the Lloyd Street facility in Allentown as its fifth location in the Northeast.
PHILADELPHIA — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has secured a $35.8 million refinancing for The Edge, a 602-unit, purpose-built student housing property near Temple University in Philadelphia. Gill Dolan and Blake Willeford of Grandbridge arranged the floating-rate, first mortgage loan for the undisclosed borrower through Freddie Mac. The financing was structured with an initial period of interest-only payments, followed by a 10-year term and 30-year amortization. The borrower requested a floating-rate loan to facilitate the refinancing of the existing CMBS mortgage, according to Grandbridge Vice President Gill Dolan. Built in 2006, the property is situated on a 1.7-acre site just south of Temple University’s main campus. The 12-story student housing community contains 1,067 beds across 602 units. Amenities include a two-story fitness center, study rooms, grilling stations and on-site laundry facilities.
PENNSBURG, PA. — CBRE has arranged the sale-leaseback of a 291,203-square-foot industrial building located at 2452 Quakertown Road in Pennsburg. The building, which is net leased through 2028, was acquired by One Liberty Properties. Michael Hines, Brian Fiumara, Brad Ruppel and Lauren Dawicki of CBRE represented the seller, RAF Industries, in the transaction. The warehouse and distribution facility was completed and expanded between 1986 and 1994 and has served as the headquarters for both Campania International and U.S. Tape, portfolio companies of RAF Industries since 2006.
PHILADELPHIA — Colliers International has brokered the $3.3 million sale of 1026 Arch St. in the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia. The three-story, 9,000-square-foot building currently houses ground-floor retail and second-floor office space. Colliers represented the seller, Alfred and Nancy Cappelli, in the transaction. A private investor purchased the building.
HARRISBURG, PA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $4.2 million sale of Paxton Street Commons, a 10,664-square-foot retail strip in Harrisburg. The five-tenant center located at 3462 Paxton St. was 100 percent occupied at the time of sale. Tenants include Starbucks, FedEx, Hertz, Cycle Gear and Qdoba. Craig Dunkle of Marcus & Millichap represented the New York-based buyer in the transaction. The seller was undisclosed. Matthew Rosenberg of Marcus & Millichap also arranged $3.5 million in financing for the buyer through an undisclosed lender.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — HFF has arranged the $55.2 million sale of MacArthur Commons, a 371,886-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail center located at 2631 MacArthur Road in Lehigh Valley. HFF represented the seller, an affiliate of Abrams Realty & Development, in the transaction. HFF also arranged $50.4 million in acquisition financing for the undisclosed buyer. The buyer was able to obtain long-term lease extensions with the anchor tenants. Current tenants at the 47-acre center include GIANT Food Stores, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Big Lots and T.J.Maxx.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $1.5 million sale of a 15-unit apartment portfolio in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. The sales price equates to approximately $100,000 per unit. The portfolio is located at 1417-1419 E. Columbia Ave. and 1243 E. Susquehanna Ave. Andrew Townsend, Clarke Talone, Joseph Sutow and Ridge MacLaren of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction, which had owned the properties for more than a decade. The buyer was a private real estate investment group and was also represented by Marcus & Millichap.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $15.7 million sale of a 74-unit apartment building at 1217 Spring Garden St. in Philadelphia. The property also includes two retail spaces. Phil Sharrow and Jon Massaro of Marcus and Millichap represented the buyer, Arts & Crafts Holdings, in the transaction. The seller was Juniata Design Inc. The building is located in the Spring Arts neighborhood. The buyer plans to revitalize the nearby abandoned railway into a public park, similar to The High Line, a 1.45-mile long elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail in New York City. The first phase of the park in Philadelphia runs from Callowhill Street to Broad Street and is scheduled for completion this year.
PHILADELPHIA — CBRE has brokered the $130.5M sale of Five Crescent Drive, a 207,779-square-foot office building in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard. An affiliate of Korea Investment Management Co. purchased the property. Robert Fahey, Jerry Kranzel, Erin Hannan and Jack Corcoran of CBRE represented the seller, Liberty Property Trust, in the transaction. Built in 2013, the four-story property is one of only a few office buildings in the United States to achieve LEED Double Platinum status. GlaxoSmithKline, a global leader in the life sciences industry, fully occupies the building on a long-term lease. The property is located in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard complex, a master-planned, 1,200-acre urban waterfront development on the Delaware River. The development currently serves as home to more than 13,000 employees and 152 companies in the life sciences, financial services, engineering, manufacturing and research and development sectors.