PHILADELPHIA — Architecture and engineering firm EwingCole has signed a 55,000-square-foot office lease renewal at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia building. The eight-story, 775,000-square-foot building is located in the downtown area and houses a conference facility with a 180-seat auditorium, a café and a fitness center. Jeffrey Tertel of Newmark represented the landlord, The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, in the lease negotiations. The tenant representative was not disclosed.
READING, PA. — Steel packaging manufacturer Can Corp. of America has signed a 114,550-square-foot industrial lease at Route 61 Distribution Center in Reading, about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The building at 184 Tuckerton Road spans 392,030 square feet and is now fully leased. Paul Touhey, Sean Bleiler and Abraham Kromah of CBRE represented the landlord, Endurance Real Estate, in the lease negotiations. The tenant representative was not disclosed.
BENSALEM, PA. — Locally based investment firm Velocity Venture Partners has acquired a 94,280-square-foot industrial property in Bensalem, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. ProCorr Display & Packaging, a manufacturer of corrugated boxes and other packaging materials, occupies the entirety of the building at 2260 State Road, which features a clear height of 20 feet and three drive-in doors. Carl Neilson and Andrew McGhee of Colliers represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction and procured Velocity as the buyer.
PITTSBURGH — Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) plans to open as many as “75 to 100” new House of Sport stores over the next five years, according to Lauren Hobart, CEO of the Pittsburgh-based retailer. House of Sport is a retail concept that provides interaction and experiences including putting greens, rock walls, batting cages and turf baseball fields, along with sports-related apparel and equipment for sale. There are currently three House of Sport stores in Rochester, N.Y.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Minnetonka, Minn. “House of Sport will be a significant part of our future growth story,” says Hobart. “Over the next two years, we plan to open around 20 additional locations, including downtown Boston and our two hometowns of Pittsburgh and Binghamton, N.Y.” Hobart’s comments came during an earnings call following the release of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ fiscal fourth-quarter 2022 earnings report. According to CNBC, Dick’s outperformed expectations with a 5.3 percent increase in same-store sales during its fiscal 2022, which ended Jan. 28. Analysts predicted the retailer’s same-store sales would rise only 2.1 percent. Dick’s recently announced its decision to exit its Field & Stream brand, which focused on outdoor sports such as fishing and hunting. As a result, the …
NEW BRITAIN, PA. — JLL has brokered the sale of Town Center of New Britain, a 124,262-square-foot shopping center located on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia. Giant Food anchors the center, which was built in 1990 and renovated in 2002. At the time of sale, Town Center of New Britain was 91 percent leased, and other tenants include Rite Aid, Dollar Tree, Verizon Wireless and AutoZone. Christopher Munley, Jim Galbally and Colin Behr of JLL represented the seller, Federal Realty Investment Trust, in the transaction. Milbrook Properties acquired the asset for an undisclosed price.
EXTON, PA. — Swiss manufacturer Früh Packaging has signed a 63,480-square-foot, full-building industrial lease in Exton, about 35 miles west of Philadelphia. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built on 26.5 acres in 2023, totals 113,000 square feet and features a clear height of 16 feet, 40 dock doors and 128-foot truck court depths. Mike Adams and Sarah Finney Miller of NAI Summit represented the tenant in the site selection and lease negotiations. Locally based developer Hankin Group owns the property.
WARRINGTON, PA. — JLL has brokered the sale of Creekview Center, a 134,980-square-foot shopping center in Warrington, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. The grocery-anchored property is also home to tenants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Bank of America and Petco. Christopher Munley, Jim Galbally and Colin Behr of JLL represented the seller, locally based investment and development firm Goodman Properties, in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Affiliates of Centerbridge Partners LP and GIC Real Estate Inc. have entered into an agreement to acquire INDUS Realty Trust Inc. (Nasdaq: INDT) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $868 million. Participating members of INDUS’ board of directors have unanimously approved the deal. Under the terms of the merger agreement, INDUS stockholders will receive $67 per share in cash. That figure represents a premium of 17 percent to the company’s closing stock price on Nov. 25, the date of Centerbridge’s initial public announcement that it intended to issue a takeover offer with GIC to acquire INDUS. “The transaction delivers immediate and significant value to our stockholders, and we believe it validates the quality of the platform and portfolio we have built over INDUS’ long history,” says Michael Gamzon, president and CEO of INDUS. INDUS, a New York City-based industrial REIT, owns 42 buildings totaling roughly 6.1 million square feet in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. The deal is expected to close this summer and is subject to customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the transaction, INDUS’ common stock will no longer be listed on Nasdaq and INDUS will become a privately held …
PHILADELPHIA — JLL has arranged a $77.5 million construction loan for a 466-unit multifamily project in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood. Phase I of the development will deliver 279 units, a parking garage and 8,450 square feet of retail space. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, theater, coworking space, dog run and a convenience mart. Michael Klein, Tom Didio and Ryan Ade of JLL arranged the loan through an undisclosed life insurance company on behalf of the borrower and developer, Saxum Real Estate. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between two locally based firms, Odin Properties and RAM Development, has broken ground on Front Street Lofts, a 31-unit multifamily project in Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood. The six-story building will house studio, one- and two-bedroom units as well as ground-floor commercial space. Completion is slated for fall 2024.