Philadelphia is well positioned in the Northeast to flourish in the industrial sector in 2017. With a centralized position in the Boston-New York-Washington, D.C. corridor, Philadelphia has capitalized on its superb location to firmly establish itself as a distribution hub leading to sustained positive momentum in all key market sectors. The e-commerce market has been experiencing significant growth and the demand for near immediacy in delivery has been the driving force behind the strong performance of the industrial sector nationwide over the past few years, especially in the Northeast. In 2016, the industrial sector in greater Philadelphia had a banner year for absorption with a net positive of 9.27 million square feet absorbed. That represents the largest growth in occupancy since the onset of the Great Recession and places Philadelphia among the top performing markets in the U.S. for net absorption in 2016. Vacancy rates for the region have fallen to 6.9 percent — the lowest they’ve been since 2008. Asking rental rates rose steadily throughout 2016 and stood at $4.77 per square foot at year-end – the highest they’ve been since 2008. Following a record year for industrial sales in 2015, sales volume remained strong in the greater Philadelphia …
BLUE BELL, PA. – Keystone Property Group has signed three new leases totaling 66,000 square feet at 5 Sentry Park, a recently renovated two-building office property in Blue Bell. The transactions include a 33,200-square-foot lease with Linde Engineering North America, a 15,700-square-foot lease with Physician Recommended Nutriceuticals (PRN) and a 15,700-square-foot lease with Veterinarian Recommended Solutions (VRS). After acquiring the 133,000-square-foot office property, Keystone completed a reinvestment program to implement functional and cosmetic upgrades. The enhancements include a new amenity area with a fitness center, conference rooms, lounge area, on-site cafe, outdoor patio with seating, roof deck, expanded entrance for the property’s eastern building, refreshed lobby at 5 West and landscaping upgrades. Linde is a Houston-based engineering firm providing technologies for the design and construction of process plants for industries including petrochemicals, gas processing and pharmaceuticals. PRN is a leading producer of food-based supplements and VRS produces health products for pets. Michael Barker and Cody Lehrer of CBRE represented PRN and VRS in their leases, while Patrick Brady and Ryan FitzPatrick of Avison Young represented Keystone.
PHILADELPHIA — Dallas-based TIER REIT has completed the sale of Three Parkway, an office building located in Philadelphia’s Center City district. An unrelated third party acquired the property for $95 million. The building features 561,000 square feet of office space. The sale marks TIER REIT’s exit from the Philadelphia market.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of an apartment building located at 1925-1927 Spring Garden St. in Philadelphia’s Spring Garden neighborhood. An undisclosed seller sold the property for $2.1 million. The building features 12 one-bedroom units. Mike Maxwell and Dana Newton of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the undisclosed buyer in the deal.
PHILADELPHIA — National Real Estate Development has secured a $57 million loan to finance the construction of a second residential tower within the East Market project in Philadelphia’s Center City. Wells Fargo & Co. provided the loan. Located at 1199 Ludlow St., the 20-story, 240-unit tower will be built above a two-story retail base. The 233,000-square-foot tower will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments, a lap pool, gym and on-demand fitness studio, an indoor playroom and outdoor play area for children, a dog run, library, conference center, lounge, screening room, billiards room, indoor/outdoor climate-controlled loggia, demo kitchen, community vegetable gardens, grilling stations and fire pits. Morris Adjmi Architects and Bower Lewis Thrower Architects are designing the tower, and Clemens Construction is serving as general contractor. National Real Estate Advisors, Joss Realty Partners, Young Capital and SSH Real Estate own the East Market project, which includes the 322-unit The Ludlow and 175,000 square feet of modern warehouse office space as well as 130,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
Center City Philadelphia continues to be one of the most vibrant residential downtowns in the country. Millennials and empty-nesters are attracted to the city’s myriad live, work and play opportunities, and the total number of Greater Center City residents has risen 17 percent since 2000. Overall the market is holding up strong; the average occupancy is 95 percent and it is expected to remain at this level for the foreseeable future. Annual effective rent growth is projected to be 3 percent in 2017 and average 2.8 percent from 2018 to 2020. The MSA’s largest job sector — higher education and healthcare services — has increased by 17 percent since 2005 and now provides 37 percent of all jobs in Philadelphia. Total job growth is projected to be 1.6 percent or more than 15,000 new jobs in 2017. Since the beginning of 2015, 23 companies, including EisnerAmper, WeWork and GSI Health, have established offices in the submarket. Multifamily investors and developers have been focused on Center City for the past few years. However, interest in some suburban markets has increased significantly as evidenced by the development and sale activity in 2016. More than $1 billion of sale transactions were recorded in …
PITTSBURGH — M&J Wilkow, in a joint venture partnership with DRA Advisors, has acquired 11 Stanwix Street, an office tower located on the southwest edge of Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle. The 24-story tower features 467,843 square feet of Class A office space. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, KeyBank and HDR Engineering, among others, currently occupy the building. M&J Wilkow Properties will serve as the building’s manager, while JLL will represent the new ownership for all leasing activity. The name of the seller and acquisition price were not released.
LANSDALE, PA — CBRE has brokered the sale of Tollgate Commons, a retail property located at 1650 Sumneytown Pike in Lansdale. A local developer sold the property to an undisclosed buyer for $7.2 million. At the time of sale, the 21,293-square-foot multi-tenant retail center was fully occupied. Matthew Gorman and Michael Shover of CBRE represented the seller, while Keller Williams Commercial represented the buyer in deal.
SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA — KeyBank Real Estate Capital’s Healthcare platform has arranged an acquisition loan for Baltimore-based Capital Health Group for the acquisition of a three-property seniors housing portfolio in Southeast Pennsylvania. Shortly after acquisition, Capital Health Group refinanced the acquisition/bridge loan through a series of three separate Fannie Mae financings originated by KeyBank’s Commercial Mortgage Group. The properties feature more than 500 units across the three properties. Grant Saunders and Jay Jordan of KeyBank’s Healthcare Group originated the initial acquisition financing, while Charlie Shoop of KeyBank’s Commercial Mortgage Group arranged the Fannie Mae financing.
PHILADELPHIA — Harrison Street Real Estate Capital has purchased two medical office buildings, located at 8001 and 8040 Roosevelt Blvd. in Philadelphia. An affiliate of George Comfort & Sons sold the properties, which total 86,000 square feet, for $17 million. The properties recently underwent renovations and were 94.7 percent leased at the time of sale. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital anchors the facilities. Ben Appel, Philip Mahler, Evan Kovac and Eric Anton of HFF represented the seller in the transaction.