PHILADELPHIA — Hunt Mortgage Group has provided a $5.5 million Freddie Mac Small Business Loan to finance the acquisition of Reach Lofts Apartments, an affordable multifamily property located at 1701-1707 Tulip St. in Philadelphia. The borrower is MM Equity Partners Philly LLC. The seven-year fixed-rate loan features an 84-month overall term with the first two years as interest-only payments followed by seven years of 30-year amortization and a yield management prepayment schedule. The five-story apartment building features 30 residential units in a mix of one- and two-bedroom layouts. Property amenities include in-unit washers and dryers, bike storage and a furnished roof deck.
PHILADELPHIA — Southern Land Co. is developing The Laurel, a $300 million mixed-use property located at 1911 Walnut St. in Philadelphia. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the 565,000-square-foot tower will feature 54 condominiums and 241 long- and short-term residences with separate lobbies and entrances. Additionally, the 48-story tower will feature 24,000 square feet of retail space. Amenity space at the property will include indoor and outdoor pools, fitness clubs, a game room with demonstration kitchen/bar, a library and music room.
BETHLEHEM, PA. — Markward Group has brokered the sale of a retail building located at 1635 Broadway in Bethlehem. Noosh Inc. sold the property and liquor license to Mariam’s Restaurant LLC for an undisclosed price. The 4,051-square-foot property was formerly occupied by 6 Pack Shop. Chip Miers and Ann Kline of Markward Group represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.
PHILADELPHIA — Thor Equities has entered the Philadelphia market with the acquisition of a three-story office condominium, located at 907 Market St. in Philadelphia, for $41.8 million. Health Partners Plans, a not-for-profit health maintenance organization, occupies the 214,000-square-foot property. The newly purchased property is located above Fashion District Philadelphia, a retail, residential and office development slated to open in fourth quarter 2018. The name of the seller was not released.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Dynasty Court Apartments, an apartment building located at 1003-1011 Race St. in the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia. A local partnership sold the property to a local development company for $16.6 million. The property features 56 apartments, five retail storefronts on Race Street and 21 parking spaces. Andrew Townsend, Ridge McLaren and Clarke Talone of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, while Townsend, McLaren, Talone and Philip Sharrow, also of Marcus & Millichap, represented the buyer in the deal. Additionally, Matthew Rosenberg of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. arranged acquisition financing for the buyer.
MALVERN, PA. — Avison Young has arranged the sale of an industrial property, located at 17 Lee Blvd. in Malvern, a suburb of Philadelphia. A private buyer acquired the building for $6.6 million. At the time of sale, the 58,594-square-foot flex building was fully leased by two tenants. Adam Gillespie and James Pasquarella of Avison Young brokered the transaction.
PHILADELPHIA — HFF has arranged the $160 million sale and financing of 1600 Market Street, a 39-story office tower located in Philadelphia’s central business district. An affiliate of American Real Estate Partners acquired the 825,968-square-foot building from Equity Commonwealth for $160 million. Ryan Ade and Cary Abod of HFF secured a three-year, floating-rate loan for the buyer for the acquisition of the property. Doug Rodio and Brett Segal of HFF represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA. — M&J Wilkow, along with ALTO Real Estate Funds, has acquired Cranberry Square, a retail center located in Cranberry Township, outside of Pittsburgh. The property was acquired for $23.5 million. At the time of sale, the 195,165-square-foot property was fully occupied by a variety of tenants, including Field & Stream, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. The name of the seller was not released.
PHILADELPHIA — Silver Arch Capital Partners has secured a $15 million land loan for the acquisition of two development sites, known as 1401 and 1401 R-S- Christopher Columbus Blvd. in South Philadelphia. The undisclosed borrower plans to develop up to 235 townhouses on the 22.9-acre site along the Delaware River, boat slips for owners’ watercraft, outdoor recreational activity areas and a riverfront cafe. Jeffrey Wolfer of Silver Arch Capital Partners arranged the financing for the borrower.
Philadelphia’s office and industrial markets have been on a hot streak for the past year, with lower vacancy rates and greater rent growth than the national average. Office vacancies are enjoying far lower vacancy rates than regional and national averages for both Class A and Class B properties in the central business district and the suburbs. Flex and industrial vacancy rates are below 7 percent overall, well below regional and national averages, with average asking rents at about $5 per square foot. We see this upswing continuing in 2018 as demand keeps pace with or exceeds new development. Philadelphia has experienced seven years of uninterrupted job growth across all sectors, with 1.8 percent growth between August 2016 and August 2017 — outpacing the national average of about 1.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We saw job growth across the board, including the education, health, and leisure and hospitality sectors. But the biggest gain was in business and professional services, where Philadelphia added 16,700 jobs over 12 months. That represents a 3.6 percent year-over-year growth rate in high-end office jobs, compared to a national average of 3 percent. Manufacturing employment declined over the past 12 months, despite …