LEVITTOWN, PA. — JLL has negotiated the $21.3 million sale of a 149,180-square-foot industrial property in the northern Philadelphia suburb of Levittown. The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that the last-mile distribution center is leased to Amazon. The property was originally built in 1963 and renovated in 2018-2019. John Plower, Ryan Cottone, Larry Maister and Jeff Lockard of JLL represented the seller, Alliance HP, in the transaction. The buyer was an undisclosed, publicly traded REIT.
CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — Washington, D.C.-based investment firm PRP has acquired a preferred equity investment in the 429,122-square-foot office headquarters building of drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen in Conshohocken, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that the value of PRP’s stake is $340 million. Developer Keystone Property Group is nearing completion of the headquarters building, which will be located within the company’s $325 million SORA West mixed-use development and will house approximately 1,500 AmerisourceBergen associates. The company announced its plan to relocate to Conshohocken from Chesterbrook in summer 2018.
PHILADELPHIA — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a $69.5 million acquisition loan for the Crossings Industrial Portfolio, a collection of 25 light industrial buildings totaling 1.2 million square feet in the Philadelphia area. John Alascio, Sridhar Vankayala, Chuck Kohaut, T.J. Sullivan and Meredith Donovan of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the floating-rate loan through Natixis on behalf of the borrower, Camber Real Estate Partners.
PHILADELPHIA — Republic Properties Corp., a privately owned real estate investment and management firm, plans to build Ultra Labs at University City, a $190 million life sciences facility in Philadelphia. The property will stand 11 stories tall and comprise 185,000 square feet of advanced research and development space for cell and gene therapy users. Republic Properties entered into a 90-year ground lease last year with Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) at the site, which is located adjacent to SEPTA’s Powelton Rail Yard station along North 32nd Street. Additionally, Ultra Labs at University City will sit within an Opportunity Zone between Powelton and Market streets overlooking the Schuylkill Expressway. The site is within close proximity to life science clusters including The Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The production center will be designed to ensure compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards for pharmaceutical and cell production facilities, according to Republic Properties. The Washington, D.C.-based developer has tapped Maryland-based brokerage firm Scheer Partners to lease the property, which is slated for completion in less than 36 months. Republic Properties’ investment partner on the project is an entity …
PHILADELPHIA — Developer Frankel Enterprises has broken ground on The Residences at Diamond Village, a 30-unit affordable housing property that will be located near Temple University in Philadelphia. Frankel Enterprises is developing the project in conjunction with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Reinvestment Fund, Tester Construction Group and the City of Philadelphia. The first residences are expected to be complete in September.
NORRISTOWN, PA. — Private equity investment firm Tryko Partners has acquired Regina Community Nursing Center, a 121-bed skilled nursing facility in Norristown, located about 12 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Built in 1980, the property is located within a 10-mile radius to nine short-term acute care hospitals. Tryko Partners plans to undertake a $3.5 million investment in physical plant renovations and specialty programming enhancements and to rebrand the property as Markley Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center.
WILLOW GROVE, PA. — College Town Communities will develop a 132-unit student housing development near the Penn State Abington campus in Willow Grove, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. The developer recently acquired the four-acre development site from Fairhill Properties for $2.5 million. Chris Pennington of Binswanger Commercial Real Estate Services brokered the land deal. The new development will offer fully furnished two-bedroom units alongside communal amenities including a clubhouse, fitness center, business center, café, media lounge and a resort-style pool. The groundbreaking is scheduled for spring.
CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — Keystone Property Group has begun development of Hotel West +Main, a 127-room hotel in the northern Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken that will be operated under the Tapestry Collection by Hilton brand. Keystone has partnered with Concord Hospitality Enterprises to develop and operate the boutique hotel, which is part of the 520,000-square-foot SORA West mixed-use development. The hotel is expected to open in the second half of 2022.
PHILADELPHIA — KeyBank has provided financing for the acquisition and renovation of Awbury View Apartments, a 125-unit affordable housing property in Philadelphia that was built between 1924 and 1958 and renovated in 2004. The property sits on 3.6 acres and also houses three commercial spaces. KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment provided a $6.4 million 4 percent low-income housing tax credit construction loan, and KeyBank’s Commercial Mortgage Group secured a $21.8 million, fixed-rate Freddie Mac tax-exempt loan. Additionally, Key Community Development Corp. provided $10.6 million of equity. Jonathan Wittkopf, Robbie Lynn, Victoria O’Brien and John-Paul Vachon of KeyBank structured the financing on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Virginia-based Community Preservation Partners East and Hampstead Development Partners, which will invest about $11 million in capital improvements.
UPPER MACUNGIE, PA. — A partnership between two New Jersey-based firms, KRE Group and Silverman Group, will develop Lehigh Hills, a 273-unit multifamily project that will be located outside of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley community of Upper Macungie. The community will feature a mix of one- and two-bedroom units that will be housed in seven mid-rise buildings. Amenities will include a fitness center with a yoga room, gaming room, conference room, a pool, dog park and a children’s play area. Valley National Bank provided a $44.4 million construction loan for the project, which is expected to be complete in 2022.
