Philadelphia’s diverse local economy, healthy hiring trends and area-employers’ ability to draw fresh talent from the metro’s deep college-graduate pool, continue to attract businesses to the area and support improvements in the office property segment. In 2016, Philadelphia firms increased payrolls by 1.9 percent with the creation of 54,000 new positions. Hiring was driven by office-using employment sectors which, over the four-quarter period ending with the second quarter of 2016, accounted for the addition of 21,700 jobs, or nearly 37 percent of all new hires. This year, it is expected that the local workforce will add 49,000 to its ranks, representing a 1.7 percent expansion. Hiring will continue to be strong among office-using companies, as well as in the healthcare and education segments. In the first half of 2016, developers sluggishly completed 178,000 square feet of new office space. In the second half of last year, the construction pipeline exploded, and by year-end 1.2 million square feet of office space had been delivered to the marketplace, with a significant amount of completions pre-leased, which helped mitigate any effects to vacancy levels. Office projects completed in 2016 were spread throughout the metro within the submarkets of Delaware County, Lehigh-Northampton, Harrisburg Area …
When it comes to the Philadelphia real estate market, the retail industry is the hot topic for many commercial real estate agents. Per a Center City district report released in early December of 2016, the city has experienced a $1 billion surge in retail spending. Subsequently, prime retail rents in Philadelphia have risen by almost 90 percent in the past five years — second to only Miami when compared to cities across the nation. Sales of retail centers in center city peaked in late 2016 at over 18 percent higher than their former top-most numbers, seen in 2008. Popular Philadelphia areas such as Walnut and Chestnut streets have been subject to high-end retail rush. The retail spending increase is thought to be a direct result of the Philadelphia metropolitan area’s new job positions. Going into the fourth quarter, the city increased its jobs by 2.2 percent compared to the previous year’s numbers. Philadelphia’s local rate of employment stood at over half a percent higher than the national employment rate in late 2016. Many of the new positions — created in well- paying, upper-echelon employment sectors — have facilitated a rise in the median household income, and subsequently the disposable income, …
PHILADELPHIA — RED Mortgage Capital, the mortgage banking arm of RED Capital Group, has closed a $31.7 million FHA Section 221(d)(4) loan and RED Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of RED Capital, underwrote $39.7 million of tax-exempt bonds for the rehabilitation of Courtyard at Riverview in Philadelphia. The borrower, The Michaels Organization, is redeveloping the multifamily property in partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The transaction was arranged in conjunction with the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and is one of the largest RAD projects in Pennsylvania. Situated on 13 acres, the 470-unit complex features a 26-story high-rise building with 165 seniors housing units and 37 two-story townhouse buildings totaling 305 modern low-rise units.
LANSDALE, PA. — CBRE has arranged $10 million in financing for the acquisition of Spring Meadows of Lansdale, a 120-unit assisted living and memory care community in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdale. A joint venture between Care Investment Trust and Greenfield Senior Living purchased the community and will change the name to Greenfield of Lansdale. The five-year, floating-rate loan includes 12 months of interest-only payments. A regional bank provided the capital. Aron Will, vice chairman of CBRE National Senior Housing, arranged the financing. Care Investment Trust is a seniors housing-focused real estate investment company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiptree Inc. Greenfield Senior Living is a seniors housing operator based in Virginia with 1,300 residents in six states.
PHILADELPHIA — Rittenhouse Realty Advisors has sold Chester Hall Apartments, a 40-unit student housing community located in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia. The property is located near the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and University of the Sciences. The undisclosed buyer plans to implement a small-scale renovation at the property, which is over 98 percent leased for the current school year.
CANONSBURG, PA. — Monticello Asset Management LLC has provided $9 million in first lien debt financing to Greenery Realty Group LLC, which will use the capital to acquire and renovate a skilled nursing facility in the Pittsburgh suburb of Canonsburg. The financing is a bridge-to-HUD loan for Greenery, a skilled nursing operator. The 140-bed facility was built in 1985 and renovated in 1995. Upon closing, the borrower implemented an initial construction project of $1.2 million and is currently in the process of making more capital expenditures. The property consists of a 52,909-square-foot, single-story skilled nursing building, a 1,700-square-foot maintenance building and a 4,000-square-foot, two-story medical office building.
PHILADELPHIA — J.G. Petrucci Co. has received a $25 million loan for The Station at Manayunk, a multifamily property located at 1 Parker Road in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood. Jon Mikula of HFF arranged the 15-year loan with Principal Real Estate Investors. Loan proceeds were used to refinance the construction loan on the property. Completed in 2014, the property features 149 units with open-concept floor plans, nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, private patios or balconies, washers and dryers, faux wood flooring and gourmet kitchens. Community amenities include a fitness center, bike share program and outdoor spaces with grilling stations.
YARDLEY, PA. — Yardley Hospitality Holdings has purchased Hampton Inn & Suites Newtown, located at 1000 Stony Hill Road in Yardley. MLMT 2005-CIP1 Stony Hill Lodging Limited Partnership, an entity managed by LNR Partners, sold the 137-room hotel for $10.7 million. The buyer plans to implement a property improvement plan that will extend the Hilton-brand license for 15 years. Situated within Lower Makefield Corporate Center, the three-story hotel was constructed in 1999.
PHILADELPHIA — HFF has arranged permanent financing for the retail portion of Rodin Square, a 79,233-square-foot newly built mixed-use property in Philadelphia’s Center City. Ryan Ade, Chris Munley and Mark West of HFF secured the 20-year, fixed-rate loan through Principal Real Estate Investors for the borrower, a partnership between Rodin Group and Benenson Capital Partners. Whole Foods Market anchored the property, which is situated on 2.9 acres at 501 N. 22 St. Additional tenants include Thomas Jefferson Hospital, CVS/pharmacy and Santander Bank.
JESSUP, PA. — LBP Manufacturing has signed a lease for 101,935 square feet of industrial space at 7 Alberigi Drive in Jessup. The national food packaging manufacturer will occupy space at Endurance Real Estate Group’s three-building I-81/NEPA Bulk-Industrial Portfolio. Daniel Walsh and Gerry Blinebury of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, an affiliate of Endurance, while Jason Webb, Lee Fittipaldi and Kris Bjorson of JLL represented the tenant in the deal.