FORT WASHINGTON, PA. — Laurus Corp. has arranged the $22.5 million sale of the Hilton Garden Inn located in the Philadelphia suburb of Fort Washington. Laurus acted as sponsor on behalf of Ethika Diversified Opportunity Real Estate Fund. After acquiring the hotel in 2013, Laurus implemented a $2.5 million value-add strategy including a renovated lobby and outdoor seating areas as well as enhancements to the guest rooms. Laurus also selected a new management company. The property is located adjacent to the Fort Washington Office Park.
WARRENDALE, PA. — Teen apparel retailer Rue21 filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, May 15 with plans to reorganize and restructure its assets and debts. In April, the company began to close approximately 400 underperforming stores of the 1,179 stores that it operates. The company stated Monday that it may evaluate further store closures as it continues to manage its real estate lease portfolio. The company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in fall 2017 with a significantly deleveraged balance sheet. The company has obtained $125 million in debtor-in-possession financing, enabling it to continue day-to-day operations, including payment of employee wages, payment of vendors and honoring customer programs, such as gift cards. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is Rue21’s legal advisor, Rothschild Inc., as its investment banker and financial advisor and Berkeley Research Group as its restructuring advisor.
HARRISBURG AND PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA. — PREIT has added new tenants at two of its Pennsylvania malls. At Capital City Mall in Harrisburg, a lease has been executed with Dave & Buster’s. The 28,000-square-foot dining and entertainment venue will open in fall 2018. At Plymouth Meeting Mall in the Philadelphia suburb of Plymouth Meeting, PREIT has executed a lease with 5 Wits, an entertainment destination named after the five senses. The live-action experience is designed to immerse guests in realistic situations including hands-on challenges requiring teamwork. The 14,000-square-foot location will be located across from LEGOLAND Discovery Center and will open this fall. In addition, CYCLEBAR, an indoor cycling concept, will open a Plymouth Meeting Mall location on May 18.
KUTZTOWN, PA. — Good Shepherd Medical Center at Weis Plaza has opened in Kutztown. Weis Plaza is a retail center anchored by Weis Supermarket, with other tenants including Dollar General and National Auto Stores. The center is located one mile from the University of Kutztown. Good Shepherd is an Allentown, Pa.-based rehabilitation center offering care for people with medical needs, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities and injuries. Nassimi Realty, a privately held development and investment company specializing in the redevelopment of existing properties, is the owner of Weis Plaza.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — A fund advised by CBRE Global Investors has acquired King of Prussia Town Center, a newly constructed, open-air shopping center located at 155 Village Drive in King of Prussia, an affluent suburb of Philadelphia. The sales price and seller were undisclosed, but various media outlets have reported that the fund acquired the 263,423-square-foot project from developer JBG Cos. for $183 million. King of Prussia Town Center is the retail component of The Village at Valley Forge, a 122-acre master planned development by Realen Corp. that will feature nearly 3,000 residential units and 1 million square feet of commercial space upon completion. The development also features the newly opened Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Specialty Care & Surgery, King of Prussia and a 130,000-square-foot Wegmans grocery store, which is owned by the same CBRE-backed fund. King of Prussia Town Center’s average traffic count is more than 360,000 vehicles daily, according to CBRE Global Investors. The development is situated near King of Prussia Mall, a 2.3 million-square-foot superregional mall owned and operated by Simon Property Group. King of Prussia Town Center was 87 percent leased at the time of sale to retailers including REI, LA Fitness, Muse Paintbar, …
WAYNE, PA. — A joint venture between Keystone Property Group and Argosy Real Estate Partners has sold Devon Square in Wayne. The two-building, 140,000-square-foot office complex is located at 724-744 W. Lancaster Ave. and sold for $33.5 million. Doug Rodio and Ben Appel of HFF represented the sellers in the transaction. After acquiring the property in 2005, Keystone conducted a capital improvement campaign updating the interiors and exteriors and remodeling common areas. The office buildings are 95 percent occupied with tenants including Merrill Lynch, Penn Liberty Bank, Keller Williams and Main Line Surgery Center. Situated on Route 30, the property is located near I-76, I-476, Route 202 and SEPTA train lines. Across Lancaster Avenue from Devon Square is Devon Village, a Whole Foods-anchored shopping center.
BATH, PA. — Colliers International’s Allentown office has brokered the $1.7 million sale of a 39,064-square-foot industrial building on 6.3 acres located at 7 Allen St. in Bath. The buyer, Wade Property Holding Bath LLC, will use the facility as a furniture shipment location. Kelly Berfield and Ryan Dietrick of Colliers International represented the seller, Penn Bath Properties, in the transaction.
PHILADELPHIA — PennFIRST is completing the planning and design process for the University of Pennsylvania’s new $1.5 billion hospital. The “Pavilion” will be situated on Penn Medicine’s West Philadelphia campus where it will create a new public square and a focal point for all surrounding buildings to anchor the health system. An official groundbreaking took place on Wednesday, May 3. The Pavilion will house inpatient care for the Abramson Cancer Center, heart and vascular medicine and surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, and a new emergency department. The project is slated for completion in 2021. Located on the former site of Penn Tower, the Pavilion will be home to about 500 new private patient rooms and 47 operating/interventional rooms in a 1.5 million-square-foot, 16-story facility. The Pavilion will be linked to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the adjacent Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine as well as the train station via a network of public bridges and walkways. Long-term flexibility was incorporated into the design so that patient rooms can be adapted and changed over time with minimal impact to the building fabric. The patient rooms will be equipped with in-room technologies to strengthen communication between patients, families and care …
BETHEL TOWNSHIP, PA. — The northeast regional office of Duke Realty Corp. has purchased 73 acres in Bethel Township for future development. The land, known as Central Logistics Park, fronts I-78 and can support the construction of a warehouse up to 832,000 square feet. Duke plans to develop a bulk warehouse on the site, which will be its fifth building in the Lehigh Valley area.
LANCASTER, PA. — Eastern Union Funding has arranged $14.2 million in acquisition financing for Hawthorne Gardens Associates’ purchase of Hawthorne Gardens in Lancaster. Eastern Union’s David Metzger and Nate Hyman worked with Greystone on behalf of the New Jersey-based private investor, securing a 12-year, fixed-rate loan with six years of interest-only payments. Located at 99 Dickens Drive, Hawthorne Gardens includes six, three-story apartment buildings. All apartments are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. The 144-unit community was built in 2014 and is 97-percent occupied. Robert Holland of The Kislak Co. represented the seller in the transaction.