BEDFORD, PA. — Organic Snack Co., the maker of Kate’s Real Food, has purchased 82 acres in Bedford, located in the southern-central part of the state, with plans to open a new warehouse and distribution center. At full build-out, the facility will span about 750,000 square feet. The investment represents a total capital commitment of $75 million and is expected to add about 500 jobs to the local economy. Dollar Bank provided predevelopment and acquisition financing for the land.
PHILADELPHIA — Equus Capital Partners has acquired a 5.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio located across the Sun Belt and East Coast. The properties were purchased from Prologis for $900 million, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The 75-property portfolio primarily comprises multi-tenant, infill, shallow-bay assets located across seven major distribution markets in Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. The acquisition was made on behalf of the company’s sponsored value-add fund, Equus Investment Partnership XII L.P. The portfolio was 98 percent leased to 250 tenants at the time of sale, which included e-commerce, logistics providers, manufacturing, business-to-business and business-to-consumer users. Equus made headlines with another large-scale industrial acquisition in October of last year, buying a 7.3 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in Arizona for $1.1 billion. “We remain disciplined in our approach to appropriately scaling our industrial holdings across the U.S. on behalf of our investment partners,” says Kyle Turner, partner and director of investments for the Philadelphia-based firm. “This most recent investment further diversifies our platform holdings in the industrial sector and provides access to dynamic distribution locations poised to benefit from improving industrial fundamentals and sustained population growth,” he continues. Kyle Turner, Tim Feron, Laura Brestelli, Joe Felici, Scott Miller and Ryan Klancic …
EASTON, PA. — J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc. has purchased a 107,310-square-foot industrial building located at 3 Danforth Drive in the Lehigh Valley city of Easton. The building sits on 10.6 acres and includes 34 loading dock positions and just under an acre of outdoor storage space. J.G. Petrucci is currently renovating the building, which will be available for leasing in July. Kevin Hagenberg of SSH Real Estate brokered the deal. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between developer Post Brothers and Tower Investments has started construction of Broad & Washington, a $750 million, multi-phase multifamily project in Philadelphia. Designed by BKV Group, the project will consist of 1,457 apartments, 65,000 square feet of retail space and a parking garage. According to the architecture firm, the site consists of two parcels: Parcel A, which spans approximately 1.4 million square feet, and the 318,000-square-foot Parcel B. The project is located at 1001 S. Broad St. at the corner of Washington Avenue, near the end of the Avenue of the Arts district. Russell Schildkraut and Christine Zivkovic of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group arranged $250 million and $100 million, respectively, in construction financing from Bank OZK and Starwood Property Trust for the first phase of Broad & Washington. Both direct lenders have partnered with Post Brothers on past projects as well. All told, Post Brothers has secured more than $400 million in construction debt for the first phase of the project, which will comprise some 600 units and 50,000 square feet of commercial space across four interconnected buildings. Delivery of the first phase is slated for 2024, and the development team expects to complete the entire project …
PHILADELPHIA — Los Angeles-based PCCP LLC has provided a $500 million loan to fund the redevelopment of the former PES oil refinery in South Philadelphia into a 15 million-square-foot logistics and life sciences campus that will be known as The Bellwether District. The borrower, a joint venture led by Hilco Redevelopment Partners, acquired the 1,300-acre property in 2020 out of bankruptcy. The transformation of the site includes the decommissioning of the refinery and significant demolition and remediation work, including the abatement of roughly 30,000 tons of asbestos. Redevelopment efforts initially commenced in June 2020. Site work and vertical construction are expected to commence this year, with the first tenants expected to occupy buildings in 2023.
READING, PA. — National Coatings & Supplies, a North Carolina-based automotive paint distributor, has signed a 119,537-square-foot industrial lease in Reading. The tenant will occupy space at Building A at Berks 222 Industrial Center, which features a clear height of 32 feet. Joel Kreider, Ed Skonecki and Michael Pietropola of Lee & Associates represented the landlord, locally based developer Endurance Real Estate Group, in the lease negotiations. Ida McMurray of SVN Latus represented the tenant.
PITTSBURGH — MultiVersity Housing Partners has purchased The Revival on Carson Portfolio, which consists of two Pittsburgh multifamily buildings that are known as The Maul and The Nakama and that total 47 units. The buildings include ground-floor retail space. MultiVersity plans to invest in capital improvements to the property through the additions of outdoor kitchens to the rooftop decks, more fitness equipment, a business center and updated lobby features. The seller was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY AND PHILADELPHIA — Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) has agreed to acquire Resource REIT, a publicly registered, non-traded REIT based in Philadelphia, for $3.7 billion in an all-cash transaction. Under the terms of the deal, BREIT will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Resource REIT for $14.75 per share, including the assumption of existing debt. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. Resource REIT’s portfolio currently consists of 42 garden-style apartment communities totaling more than 12,600 units across 13 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Texas. “This transaction represents a continuation of our high-conviction investing in top-quality multifamily communities in growth markets across the country,” says Asim Hamid, senior managing director at Blackstone. “We intend to capitalize on our expertise, scale and management practices to ensure these properties are well maintained and provide an exceptional experience for residents.” Lazard Frères & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Resource REIT, and DLA Piper LLP is acting as the firm’s legal counsel. BofA Securities, BMO Capital Markets Corp., Eastdil Secured Advisors LLC and RBC Capital Markets LLC are acting as financial advisors to BREIT. Simpson Thacher …
YORK, PA. — Berkshire Bank has provided a $33.9 million loan for the refinancing of The Oaks and Reserve at Copper Chase, a multifamily property in York. The development consists of the 132-unit Reserve at Copper Chase, which was built in 1983 and renovated in 2019, and the 107-unit Oaks at Copper Chase, which was delivered last year. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, walking trails, playground, clubhouse and a dog park. Drew Fletcher and Paul Fried of Greystone arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, New Jersey-based Larken Associates.
YORK, PA. — Nevada-based Dermody Properties has acquired the former Glen-Gery Corp. manufacturing site in York with plans to redevelop the property into a 342,720-square-foot logistics center. Glen-Gery, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of building products, has occupied the 29.5-acre site for more than 50 years and will lease back the facility for the next two years. Dermody will begin construction of the logistics center at that time. The company also intends to complete roadwork improvements to the adjoining intersection.