EASTON, PA. — TSW Alloy Wheels, a provider of custom staggered wheels, has purchased a 105,840-square-foot industrial facility situated on a 9.6-acre site in the Lehigh Valley city of Easton from developer J.G. Petrucci & Co. TSW Alloy Wheels will use the newly built property, which features 36-foot clear heights and an ESFR sprinkler system, as a new regional distribution center. Paul Weiss of PF Weiss Realty brokered the deal.
SHIPPENSBURG, PA. — Lowe’s Home Centers LLC has signed a 1.1 million-square-foot industrial lease in Shippensburg, located in between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in the southern-central region of the state. The home improvement retailer will occupy warehouse and distribution space at Shippensburg 81 Logistics Center, a newly developed property situated on a 100-acre site along Interstate 81. Building features include 36-foot clear heights, 189 dock doors, 185-foot truck court depths, 250 car parking spaces, 631 trailer parking spaces and an ESFR sprinkler system. Mike Hess and David Remington of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Mark Chubb and Mike Zerbe of Colliers International represented the landlord, Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners.
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as of Sunday, Nov. 1. PREIT (NYSE: PEI), which is based in Philadelphia, owns and operates 22.5 million square feet of retail space including 19 mall properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina. PREIT has reached a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with its bank lenders, under which an additional $150 million will be committed to recapitalize the business and extend its debt maturities. The announcement coincides with the Chapter 11 filing of Tennessee-based CBL & Associates (NYSE: CBL), which owns and manages a portfolio of 107 properties totaling 66.7 million square feet across 26 states, including 65 enclosed, outlet and open-air retail centers and eight properties managed for third parties. “Today’s announcement has no impact on our operations — our employees, tenants, vendors and the communities we serve — and we remain committed to continuing to deliver top-tier experiences and improving our portfolio,” says Joseph Coradino, CEO of PREIT. “With the overwhelming support of our lenders, we look forward to quickly emerging from this process as a financially stronger company.” DLA Piper LLP and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are …
PITTSON, PA. — A partnership between Endurance Real Estate Group LLC and Blue Vista Capital has sold the 1 million-square-foot Interstate Distribution Center in Pittston, located south of Scranton, for $96 million. The partnership purchased the 225-acre former Techneglas manufacturing site in 2012 and redeveloped the property into a modern bulk warehouse/distribution asset. The new cross-dock building features 40-foot clear heights, 193 dock doors, 421 car parking spaces and 129 truck parking spaces. Gerry Blinebury and Dan Walsh of Cushman & Wakefield represented the partnership in the sale. Jason Webb and Kris Bjorson of JLL represented the undisclosed buyer.
PHOENIXVILLE, PA. — JLL has provided a Freddie Mac loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of Westridge Gardens, a 136-unit multifamily asset in Phoenixville, a northwestern suburb of Philadelphia. Renovated in 2017, the property consists of 15 buildings housing one-, two- and three-bedroom units on a 13-acre site. The average unit size is 986 square feet, and each residence offers in-unit washers and dryers and outdoor patio space. Communal amenities include a pool, sport court and a playground. Ryan Ade, Jamie Leachman and Travis Hess originated a 10-year, fixed-rate loan for the acquisition on behalf of the borrower, Relative Properties LLC.
PHILADELPHIA — Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the real estate development unit of Hilco Global, has revealed plans for the remediation and repositioning of the 1,300-acre former refinery site of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES). The development will be known as The Bellwether District. The redevelopment plan includes the demolition of 105 onsite buildings, as well as hydrocarbon processing units, boiler rooms and wastewater treatment plants, to convert the site into a logistics hub that will house between 13 million and 15 million square feet of industrial space. The decommissioning and demolition plans also call for a significant amount of environmental cleanup work, including the removal of some 950 miles of pipeline and various pieces of infrastructure and equipment left behind at what was once the Northeast’s largest refinery.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of 2100 Mack Boulevard, a 250,000-square-foot office building in Allentown, located in the Lehigh Valley region. The six-story property is situated on 22 acres and features an auditorium, fully equipped fitness center and a full-service cafeteria. Lehigh Valley Health Network has occupied the building since 2009; prior to that, the property served as the headquarters for Mack Trucks. Andy Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Kyle Schmidt, Frank DiTommaso, Seth Zuidema and Gerry Blinebury of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, J.G. Petrucci Co., in the transaction. BHN Associates purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.
PHILADELPHIA — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has acquired Philadelphia-based Maher Commercial Mortgage LLC, effectively expanding its presence in the Southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey region. The acquisition will add more than $900 million in annual loan volume and $3 billion in servicing to Bellwether Enterprise’s existing portfolios. Firm leader Thompson Maher will join Bellwether Enterprise as an executive vice president, and his six support staff and five loan producers will also join the acquiring entity.
NEWVILLE, PA. — Metro Philadelphia-based investment and development firm Exeter Property Group has purchased a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center located at 3419 Ritner Highway in Newville, located west of Harrisburg, for $85 million. The property is situated on 85.3 acres just off Interstate 81 and features a 60-foot loading bay, a 200-foot truck court, 249 automobile parking spaces and 243 trailer parking spaces. Gerry Blinebury, Gary Gabriel and Adam Campbell of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Artemis Real Estate Property, in the transaction. The asset was constructed on a speculative basis and is currently vacant.
BETHLEHEM, PA. — Walker & Dunlop has provided a $25 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Bethlehem Fields Apartments a multifamily community located in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. The property features one- and two-bedroom apartments and townhomes for a total of 216 residences. John Banas, Kris Wood, John Wilson and Rhett Saltiel of Walker & Dunlop originated the 10-year, fixed-rate loan, which was also structured with three years of interest-only payments. The borrower was Pennsylvania-based Boyd Wilson.