KenCrest leases floor in Brandywine-owned suburban office tower Plymouth Meeting

 By Holly Polivka CoStar Research

KenCrest, a human services provider supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, leased 26,058 square feet of office space at 401 Plymouth Road and plans to relocate to the suburban office building owned by Brandywine Realty Trust in December.

The firm, which is currently located nearby at 960 Harvest Drive in Blue Bell, will occupy the entire fifth floor in the six-story building located at the crossroads of Interstates 476 and 276. Other tenants include Liberty Mutual, KeyBank, and McNees Wallace & Nurick.

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ID Logistics subleases large industrial facility to expand into central Pennsylvania

 By Noah Lacy CoStar Research

ID Logistics, an international contract logistics provider based in Tampa, Florida, subleased the entire 1,085,280-square-foot Building A in the First Logistics Center @ 283, located at 2771 N. Market St. in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, from online fashion retailer Boohoo Group, which closed its U.S. distribution center as part of a strategy to reduce costs and reposition its business for sustainable, profitable growth.

The deal single-handedly filled one of the largest blocks of industrial sublease space in eastern Pennsylvania.

France-based ID Logistics operates more than 360 sites across 17 countries and manages approximately 8 million square meters of warehousing space globally. The firm has been on an aggressive expansion in North America in 2026, recently expanding operations into South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky and investing $83 million to acquire a 582,000-square-foot distribution facility in eastern Henrico County, Virginia.

ID Logistics entered the U.S. market through the 2019 acquisition of Tampa-based Jagged Peak, and has since made other major acquisitions, including Kane Logistics in 2022.

Boohoo Group, a U.K.-based online retailer that sells clothing, shoes, accessories and beauty products through its numerous brands that now operates as Debenhams Group, signed a long-term lease with First Industrial Realty Trust for the first building completed at First Logistics Center @ 283 with much fanfare in 2022. Completed that year, the distribution facility is located along Route 230 in Dauphin County, approximately eight miles southeast of Harrisburg International Airport and near FedEx and UPS parcel facilities.

Based on the successful development and lease-up of its first building, First Industrial commenced construction on an adjacent industrial facility measuring just under 700,000 square feet that was completed in the second quarter of 2023 at 2701 N Market St. and is leased to Kyocera and JAS Worldwide

Boohoo Group's U.S. facility was operational for approximately 15 months before it ceased operations in November 2024, switching fulfillment of its U.S. orders to its automated fulfillment center in the U.K. Debenhams Group reported the sublease will mitigate approximately $100 million in future lease and holding costs. The company incurred $124 million in costs at the site's operational requirements before closing.

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EPR Properties acquires Netflix House real estate in Pennsylvania

 By Linda Moss CoStar News

A landlord focused on experiential real estate has added the building that's home to a Netflix House, the digital streamer's entertainment-and-shopping venue outside Philadelphia, to its portfolio for $60 million.

EPR Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Missouri, has acquired the 120,000-square-foot building at 180 N. Gulph Road at the King of Prussia Mall, according to public documents. The sale closed in June. Canadian retail holding company Hudson's Bay Co. was the seller, according to CoStar data.

HBC, onetime owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, acquired Neiman Marcus Group in December 2024 for $2.7 billion. Subsequent to that purchase, HBC liquidated its Canadian operations and closed its stores in that nation. The merged Saks-Neiman Marcus company was first renamed Saks Global and is now called Exemplar Luxury Group.

Los Gatos, California-based Netflix leased and opened its first permanent entertainment location, Netflix House, at a former Lord & Taylor store in November last year. The site offers immersive attractions such as games and virtual-reality experiences, a store selling merchandise tied to Netflix shows and a large restaurant. A second location is open in Dallas, while a third is planned for Las Vegas.

Brick-and-mortar retailers have increasingly turned to in-person experiences that cannot be replicated online. EPR describes itself as a diverse REIT that specializes "in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry." That includes theaters, fitness, gaming, skiing, and "eat-and-play" locations.

In an investor presentation in July, EPR said it had "added Netflix as new partner through our acquisition of Netflix House Philadelphia; transforming popular digital intellectual property into physical, immersive experiences."

Ben Fox, EPR executive vice president, talked about the acquisition on that second-quarter earnings call.

"On the Netflix House investment, not only is Netflix an A-rated corporate credit, but as one of the leading streaming platforms, our partnership with them further validates the powerful role that physical experiences play in an increasingly digital world," he told Wall Street analysts.

The deal was earlier reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal. The large mall where Netflix House is located is owned by Simon Property Group.

The former Lord & Taylor building was on the block — for a second time — for roughly seven months, put up for sale a few months after Netflix House opened. 

"This first-of-its-kind concept is an experiential entertainment venue offering retail, dining and immersive experiences centered around Netflix’s [intellectual property] content," CBRE said in a marketing brochure. "Netflix House’s net lease has nine years of term remaining with 2.5% annual rent escalations and features a corporate guaranty from Netflix."

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Conshohocken office building has new owner

 Conshohocken | Business News , Local News| By Kevin Tierney

The 40,373-square-foot office building at 125 East Elm Street in Conshohocken has been sold for $11,100,000, according to Montgomery County property records. The office building, which was branded SORA East, was owned by an entity associated with Keystone Development + Investment. It was sold to an entity associated with Patriot Financial Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in community banks, thrifts, and financial services-related companies in the United States, which is currently based in Radnor.

According to sources, Patriot plans to utilize the building as its headquarters and will lease a limited amount of space. Patriot did not respond to an email seeking more details on their move to Conshohocken.

The building is located at the corner of East Elm and Harry streets, and is adjacent to the not-yet-opened The Garden by Pieri Winery.

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Renderings offer first look at proposed Philadelphia sports arena

 By Jonathan Lehrfeld CoStar News

The first exterior renderings of a sports arena planned for Philadelphia reveal what the proposed landmark venue may look like.

The city's NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers unveiled images this week of their proposed future home that's expected to also host the city's upcoming yet-to-be-named WNBA team. The teams' owners plan to pay for the development with their own money.

Scheduled to break ground in early 2027 and open in 2030 — pending necessary approvals — the planned arena marks the largest entirely privately funded project in the city’s history. An estimated cost was not revealed, but it is anticipated to create nearly 15,000 jobs and generate nearly $6 billion in economic activity over the next 10 years, plus hundreds of millions in new tax revenue.

Sports and entertainment remain key drivers of Philly's economy. This past summer, the city hosted the MLB All-Star Game and several soccer matches as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Other cities around the country, such as Washington, D.C., are doubling down on making professional athletics a centerpiece of their economic mission.

The 76ers, who recently snagged expected Hall-of-Famer LeBron James, scrapped plans last year to put a proposed stadium in Philly's Chinatown neighborhood. By staying in South Philadelphia, it will remain in an area that also hosts the city's separate baseball stadium and football stadium. The state of New Jersey attempted to woo the teams from across the Delaware River and build a stadium in Camden, but that effort fizzled.

"This privately funded arena will be the home to moments and memories that define this city for generations,” said Josh Harris, co-founder of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers, in a statement.

Comcast owns the naming rights to the new arena that is set to be formally named at a later date. Global design firm Populous and architecture firm Moody Nolan were selected to bring the arena to life at the site of the former Spectrum stadium. That arena was razed starting in 2010 and became a parking lot, according to local media.

The upcoming arena’s architecture draws inspiration from the shape of that Spectrum venue that hosted the 76ers and the Flyers for nearly three decades. Both teams currently play at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the nearby facility that previously was named as the Wachovia Center and Wells Fargo Center. That venue recently completed a $400 million renovation.

At the proposed stadium, a half-acre of outdoor space and food-and-beverage pavilions are expected to add options for visitors that complement the adjacent dining and entertainment complex Stateside Live! that was previously known as Xfinity Live!. That hospitality venue received a $20 million renovation earlier this year.

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Philadelphia office building lands loan to upgrade to attract tenants

 By Jonathan Lehrfeld CoStar News

One of the Philadelphia region's largest credit unions closed the biggest loan in its history, marking an expansion of its commercial lending abilities and helping an office tower owner upgrade the building as occupiers seek higher-quality workspaces.

Citadel Credit Union closed a $50 million commercial real estate loan for the 29-story building at 2000 Market St. in Philadelphia, the company said Wednesday.

The record-setting transaction for the not-for-profit institution demonstrates its ability to go beyond traditional consumer banking and community partnerships to source, originate and lead larger, more complex commercial real estate deals, it said. Closing the deal "demonstrated that we can close complex opportunities at greater scale," Michael Desimone, chief lending officer at Citadel Credit Union, said in a statement.

The funding will enable the building's new ownership group to continue tenant improvements to increase the property's occupancy rate. The 2000 Market St. tower is about 70% leased, CoStar data shows.

A joint venture between New York-based CSB Holdings and Baltimore-based Tide Realty Capital purchased the roughly 665,000-square-foot Center Center tower about a year ago for $45.5 million. Law firm Marshall Dennehey anchors the building, with other tenants including the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church and CMI Media Group, according to CoStar data.

"Since acquiring 2000 Market Street, the ownership group has upgraded the building’s gym, added a pickleball court, and created modern shared and hoteling spaces throughout the property," a Citadel spokesperson told CoStar News via email.

Office tenants nationwide have sought higher-quality space. Some law firms in Washington, D.C., are willing to wait years to move into big-box trophy office space in the city.

The credit union's financing includes a future-funding component that enables the 2000 Market ownership group to build customized spaces for long-term anchor tenants, the spokesperson said. The scope of those improvements is set to be tailored to each tenant’s specifications.

In addition to its work on the Market Street office building, Citadel Credit Union is expanding its physical presence in Philadelphia proper. Last month, it signed a lease for its third city branch. That location, at 133 W. Hunting Park Ave., is slated to open next year.

Its first branch in Philadelphia opened in the Overbrook Park neighborhood earlier this year, and a second location is slated to open in the Cedar Park neighborhood in the coming months.

For the record

Chris Hansen led the transaction for Citadel, working with the ownership group and the lender’s agent, Rhyze Solutions. Two50 Capital Group, led by Adrian Edery and Sara Frankel, served as the commercial financing broker.

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CRE Investors Increasingly Focus on Smaller Metros (Video)

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