PHILADELPHIA — PIDC, in partnership with Ensemble Real Estate Investments and Mosaic Development Partners, will build a 220,000-square-foot life sciences project at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The two-building project is part of the $400 million Phase I of a $2.5 billion expansion at the 7.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development. The building at 1201 Normandy Place will span 100,000 square feet of lab, office and research and development space. The building at 33 Rouse Blvd. will total 120,000 square feet and will house similar uses, along with manufacturing and warehousing space. Both buildings are slated for completion by the end of 2022. PIDC is the public-private partnership behind and master developer of the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Many in commercial real estate expected a tsunami of COVID-related distressed properties in 2020 and 2021. So far, the wave hasn’t materialized, says Jay Olshonsky, president and CEO of NAI Global. Businesses have been sustained by exogenous factors that may or may not keep them from foreclosure or receivership in the long term. In many cases, lender forbearances or flexible plans have simply extended the window in which distressed properties may eventually revert to receivership. Olshonsky spoke to REBusinessOnline about receivership activity and what the industry expects over the next 12 months. Delays: Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis, Plus Current Factors As court-appointed receivers, NAI’s representatives act as the owner and operator of properties in foreclosure on behalf of the court. A receivership needs to have the capability to lease the property, pay taxes and handle accounting — basically, taking over all aspects of managing a property and keeping it functioning, Olshonsky says. Much of how NAI Global has chosen to approach the current receivership landscape originated in the lessons of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. During the early stages of the pandemic, NAI knew there would be fallout that would force some businesses into foreclosure, servicing, note sales or similar …
KERRVILLE, TEXAS — Gulf Avionics, an aerospace maintenance and repair firm, has relocated its headquarters and operations to a 7,000-square-foot space in the Central Texas city of Kerrville. The new facility will service aviation clients from the greater San Antonio area. Gulf Avionics, a division of E.H. Caddis & Co., which also owns Dallas-based RBR Aviation, plans to add 50 avionics and aerospace jobs to the local economy over the next five years.
PHOENIX — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the sale of a two-tenant medical office building located at 349 E. Coronado Road in Phoenix. A limited liability company sold the property to a California-based buyer in a 1031 exchange for $4.3 million. Arizona Digestive Health and Phoenix Endoscopy occupy the 11,760-square-foot asset, which was built in 2003 on 1.7 acres. The property is 60 percent medical office and 40 percent licensed surgery center. Alan Laulainen, Chris Lind and Mark Ruble of Marcus & Millichap’s Phoenix office represented the seller in the deal.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Marsh Properties and Aston Properties are co-developing 2825 South, a Class A office building in Charlotte’s South End. The development is expected to break ground in September. 2825 South will be a six-story building located on South Boulevard at Elmhurst and Marsh roads. The property will total 138,780 square feet with 20,440 square feet of ground-level retail and four floors of office space atop a parking deck. Aston Properties will occupy 8,000 square feet of office space in 2825 South. The project’s general contractor, Samet Corp., plans to occupy 12,000 square feet. There is currently 77,000 square feet of office space available for lease. Designed by LS3P, 2825 South will include touchless automatic building entry doors, large main and elevator lobby suited for social distancing, UV CleanAir elevator air sanitization and filtration system and touchless restroom doors and fixtures, as well as advanced HVAC and air filtration systems. Aston Properties will handle leasing duties.
FRISCO, TEXAS — General contractor Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP Construction) has reached the midpoint of the development of PGA of America’s 106,622-square-foot headquarters building in Frisco. The building will be situated on a 6.2-acre tract within the new 660-acre campus, which will also include two new championship golf courses, a 500-room Omni PGA Frisco Resort and a golf entertainment district. Approximately 150 employees will work in the four-story headquarters building, which is scheduled to be fully complete in the first quarter of 2022. PGA of America originally announced its relocation from South Florida to Frisco in December 2018. At the time, the organization projected an initial investment of $500 million in the local economy, a figure that is anticipated to grow to $2.5 billion over the next 15 to 20 years.
PHILADELPHIA — American Real Estate Partners (AREP) has completed the $15 million renovation of 1600 Market Street, a 39-story, 825,968-square-foot office tower in Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built in 1980 and initially renovated in 1997. The project included a number of health and wellness upgrades, such as elevating exterior air settings to maximize HVAC exchanges of fresh air, using MERV 13 air filters throughout and installing ultraviolet light and ion technology air purifiers in elevators. AREP originally acquired the asset in 2018 and began this renovation project in December 2019.
PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between locally based REIT Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) and the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) will develop a 50,000-square-foot life sciences project in Philadelphia. The property will be located adjacent to Brandywine’s Schuylkill Yards mixed-use development in the University City area. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately and to be complete in the fourth quarter.
MENLO PARK, CALIF. AND NEW YORK CITY — Flexible office space provider WeWork has entered into an agreement with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) BowX Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: BOWX) to be taken public at an initial valuation of $9 billion. A SPAC is a business entity with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring other companies. Menlo Park, Calif.-based BowX Acquisition Corp. is an affiliate of Bow Capital, a venture capital firm begun by Vivek Ranadive, the founder of TIBCO software and owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The transaction, which is expected to close by the third quarter, will provide New York City-based WeWork with approximately $1.3 billion of cash to fund future growth initiatives. The transaction will be funded with BowX’s $483 million of cash in trust, in addition to $800 million in private investment from capital sources such as Insight Partners, funds managed by Starwood Capital Group and others. SPACs have recently grown in popularity among private and institutional investors alike as vehicles for taking companies public. According to Forbes, which recently analyzed the U.S. activity of SPACs, these entities raised as much …
LEXINGTON, KY. — NAI Isaac has brokered the sale of 771 Corporate Drive, a 120,000-square-foot office building in Lexington. An entity doing business as Corporate Drive LLC sold the 10-story property was sold to a private, undisclosed buyer. Al Isaac of NAI Isaac represented the seller in the transaction. The price was not disclosed. The Corporate Plaza is located about four miles from Bluegrass Airport. The new property owner has retained NAI Isaac as the exclusive leasing agent and property manager for the building, marking over two decades of the local firm managing Corporate Plaza.