HAZELTON, PA. — Hinerfield Commercial has brokered the sale of a showroom and warehouse facility located at 485 Susquehanna Blvd. in Hazelton. Bradley International acquired the 51,000-square-foot property for an undisclosed price. The building is occupied by Nathan’s Furniture Store, which originally purchased the property in 1983. Griff Keefer and John Cognetti of Hinerfield Commercial handled the sale negotiations.
FORT WASHINGTON, PA. — Square Mile Capital Management has originated a $90.5 million loan secured by Fort Washington Technology Center, located at 1100 Virginia Drive in Fort Washington. The borrower was an entity owned by funds managed by Greenfield Partners, which acquired the property in 2013 as part of a multi-state office portfolio. Built in 1964, the 751,143-square-foot multi-tenant office building features a fitness center, basketball court, Starbucks Coffee shop and cafeteria. Jay Marshall of HFF arranged the financing for the borrower. The loan includes proceeds to repay existing debt and fund future property improvements and leasing costs.
Commercial property owners around the country are cheering a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that breathes new life into constitutional guarantees of uniformity in taxation. Overruling a decade of lower court decisions, the ruling reestablishes the primacy of constitutional uniformity protections to taxpayers in the strongest possible language, fittingly issued just one day after the July 4 holiday. Nearly every state constitution requires uniformity in taxation, meaning that two like properties should receive the same assessment, no matter how they are owned, occupied, built or financed. Yet commercial property owners across the nation have been under attack by assessors attempting to alter appraisal theory in order to pin higher assessments and higher real estate taxes on specific owners. These assessors have been singling out occupied commercial properties by setting assessments based on financing mechanisms that fail to meet standard appraisal definitions of market sales, incorrectly basing taxable value on data relating to sale-leasebacks, turnkey leases and contract rights and duties associated with tenant financing. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, the only states that provide school districts a statutory right to file increase appeals, the school districts have been targeting specific commercial owners for higher assessments using this same flawed methodology. These …
BROOKHAVEN, PA. — Katz Properties has completed the disposition of Brookhaven Shopping Center, a retail center located along State Route 352 in Brookhaven. Invesco Real Estate acquired the 211,758-square-foot property for an undisclosed price. Chris Angelone and Jim Galbally of JLL represented the seller in the deal. ShopRite and Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse anchor the center.
PHILADELPHIA — Gladstone Commercial has purchased a single-tenant industrial building in Philadelphia. PNC Realty Investors, as investment advisor to the AFL-CIO Building Investment Fund, sold the 300,000-square-foot facility for an undisclosed price. The National Archives and Records Administration has leased the building through 2032, with a termination option beginning in 2027. The property is located on a 30.3-acre site with the ability to accommodate future expansion. Michael Hines, Brian Fiumara, Brad Ruppel, Lauren Dawicki and Jeffrey Shell of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
PHILADELPHIA — CBRE Capital Markets has brokered the sale of Centre Square, a two-building, 1.8 million-square-foot office complex located at 1500 Market St. in Philadelphia. An affiliate of Nightingale Properties acquired the complex for an undisclosed price. Robert Fahey, Jerry Kranzel, Erin Hannan and Jack Corcoran of CBRE represented the seller, Chicago-based Equity Commonwealth, in the transaction. Built in 1974, the complex consists of a 36-story East Tower, a 43-story West Tower, a 450-vehicle parking garage and 41,000 square feet of retail space. The University of Pennsylvania Health System, Towers Watson, PHMC, Saul Ewing, Dilworth Paxson and Radian are tenants at the complex.
LANCASTER, ELIZABETHTOWN AND LEBANON, PA. — High Real Estate Group has purchased a four-property, value-add multifamily portfolio in Central Pennsylvania from Equus Capital Partners for an undisclosed price. The portfolio comprises the 112-unit Greenview Terrace and 85-unit Barrcrest Manor in Lancaster, the 128-unit Village Green in Elizabethtown and the 87-unit Lebanon Court in Lebanon. Mark Thomson, Carl Fiebig, Francis Coyne, Jose Cruz and Matthew Lawton of HFF represented the seller in the transaction. High Real Estate acquired the portfolio free and clear of debt.
SLIPPERY ROCK, PA. — Campus First Student Living is developing the second phase of University Village at Slippery Rock in Slippery Rock. Located in close proximity to Slippery Rock University, the second phase will include five buildings totaling 44 units and 152 beds. The unit mix will include two-bed/two-bath, three-bed/three-bath and four-bed/four-bath layouts. All residences will feature stainless steel, high-efficiency appliances, new furniture packages and granite counter tops. Construction is slated to begin by June 2018. The first phase of the property consists of 200 units and 632 beds in two-bed/two-bath and four-bed/four-bath layouts.
UPPER GWYNEDD TOWNSHIP, PA. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has arranged the sale of a commercial building located at 212 Church Road in Upper Gwynedd Township, approximately 30 miles north of Philadelphia. Patriarch VIII, a part of Patriarch Management, sold the one-story building to Gorman & Co. for $3.7 million. The buyer plans to convert the 94,000-square-foot building into a high-end, climate-controlled self-storage facility. Neil Shupak and Justin Bell of NKF represented the seller in the transaction.
CAMP HILL, PA. — PREIT is repositioning Capital City Mall near Harrisburg with multiple new tenants, including the Dick’s Sporting Goods to replace Sears. The company has executed leases with Fine Wine & Good Spirits, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dave & Buster’s to remerchandise the 614,000-square-foot mall, located at 3506 Capital City Mall Drive in Camp Hill. The 11,500-square-foot Fine Wine & Good Spirits will be adjacent to the Dick’s Sporting Goods space, which is already under construction. Both tenants are slated to open this fall. Additionally, Dave & Buster’s will open a 28,000-square-foot location — its first in the region — at the property in fall 2018. Current tenants at the property include JCPenney, Macy’s, DSW, Old Navy, Field & Stream, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, Kay Jewelers, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, H&M and Build-A-Bear Workshop.
