MORRISTOWN, N.J. — JLL has arranged two loans totaling $16.8 million for the refinancing of a portfolio of three industrial properties that are located in the Lehigh Valley cities of Upper Macungie and Allentown and the coastal New Jersey city of Toms River. The portfolio totals 258,123 square feet across six buildings. Jon Mikula, Michael Klein, Michael Pagniucci and Carlos Silva of JLL placed the nonrecourse, fixed-rate loans with Minnesota Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the borrower, Denholtz Properties.
PHILADELPHIA — Los Angeles-based PCCP LLC has provided a $62 million senior construction loan for a 282,737-square-foot industrial facility in northeast Philadelphia that is preleased to TJX Cos., the parent company of discount retailers Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. The borrower, DH Property Holdings, expects to break ground on the 22-acre facility in June and to complete it in third quarter of 2022. Building features will include 52-foot clear heights, 149 trailer parking spaces and 141 car parking spaces.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has signed a 150,000-square-foot life sciences lease at Discovery Labs’ 1 million-square-foot campus on Swedeland Road in King of Prussia, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. The university will use the space for its gene therapy program, which centers on researching gene functionality and development of genetic medicines for rare diseases. The lease encompasses two buildings. Discovery Labs is an affiliate of MLP Ventures, which was represented internally by Joe Corcoran and Julian O’Neill in the lease negotiations. Joe Fetterman of Colliers International represented the university.
WILLOW GROVE, PA. — Developer J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc. and its subsidiary, Petrucci Residential, have completed the lease-up of The Station at Willow Grove, a 275-unit multifamily property located on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia. The community is now 100 percent occupied. Units feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and glass mosaic backsplashes. The property features 20,000 square feet of commercial space and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, business center, resident clubroom, cinema lounge and a furnished courtyard.
HAMBURG, PA. — Colliers International has negotiated the sale of a 37,840-square-foot retail center located at 552 State St. in the Lehigh Valley city of Hamburg. Pennsylvania-based grocer Weis Markets anchors the center. Scott Horner and Derek Zerfass of Colliers represented the seller, private investor Linda King, in the transaction. The duo also procured the buyer, Sar & Co.
BELLEFONT, PA. — Lument has arranged a $35.6 million construction loan for Centre Care Rehabilitation and Wellness Service, a 240-bed skilled nursing facility in Bellefonte, located in the central part of the state. The new facility will replace an existing 240-bed property that was deemed unsuitable for substantial renovations due to its age and location. Miles Kingston of Lument arranged the construction financing through First National Bank on behalf of the borrower, Complete Healthcare Resources Eastern.
LANCASTER, PA. — CBRE has negotiated the sale of Burle Business Park, a 1.2 million-square-foot office and industrial campus located in the eastern Pennsylvania city of Lancaster. The sales price was $30.2 million. The 75-acre property comprises 16 buildings that were 90 percent leased at the time of sale to more than 40 tenants across a variety of industries. Amenities include a cafeteria, café, a conference room and catering service. Bill Tourtellotte of CBRE represented the seller, BURLE Business Park LP, in the transaction. The buyer was Jersey Holdings.
MILTON, PA. — The Jenkins Organization, a Houston-based owner-operator of self-storage facilities and RV resorts, will open Jellystone Park at Milton, a 60-acre development located north of Harrisburg in the central part of the state. The property offers 20 cabins and lodges and 160 RV sites, as well as amenities such as a volleyball court, fishing ponds and an arts and crafts center. A formal opening ceremony will be conducted Saturday, May 22.
GOULDSBORO, PA. — Atlanta-based investment firm MDH Partners has acquired a 390,000-square-foot industrial property in Gouldsboro, located outside of Scranton. Built in 2002, the property was fully leased to Broadrange Logistics at the time of sale. Building features include a clear height of 30 feet, 42 dock doors, 130-foot truck court depths and an ESFR sprinkler system. The new ownership plans to expand the property by 160,000 square feet, with construction set to begin in the first quarter of next year. The seller was Exeter Property Group. Nick Murphy of Eastdil Secured brokered the deal.
By Taylor Williams Demand for industrial space continues to surge throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, prompting developers to undertake more projects on a speculative basis and avail themselves to the classic mantra of “If you build it, they will come.” E-commerce users, spanning every industry from building materials to electronics to food, continue to spearhead the demand side of the equation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020, a year in which a global health crisis spurred furious increases in online shopping, e-commerce sales accounted for 14.4 percent of all retail sales, up from 7.3 percent in 2015. That figure is expected to grow to nearly 20 percent by 2024. Lenders are eager to finance speculative industrial projects, and developers are scouring the Mid-Atlantic for viable sites as spec projects increasingly account for bigger portions of their portfolios. “Pre-COVID, and even dating back several years, you might see 20 percent of the Mid-Atlantic industrial projects being done as build-to-suits,” says Rob Borny, senior vice president of capital deployment and head of the East Region for Nevada-based Dermody Properties. “It’s now moving toward being significantly less [build-to-suit activity] due to robust tenant demand, as well as the shorter lead …