Middle Market CRE Digest – The Northeast

by Steve Lubetkin Globest.com

The Haub School of Business’s real estate finance program at St. Joseph’s University has conducted its first Real Estate and Construction Survey of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The report, which is based on a survey of local professionals in various real estate fields, contains 2016 year-end results as well as expectations for the upcoming year. The survey’s 117 respondents included real estate agents to construction specialists, property owners, bankers, project managers and more, representing 134 professions in 10 areas of commercial real estate in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. Significant findings from the Real Estate and Construction Survey Report include: 80 % of respondents indicated that their business increased in 2016. Only three percent said business had decreased. 100% reported an increase in hiring in 2016. 59% said that they expect business to increase again in 2017. Respondents agreed that the top strategic opportunities in the Philadelphia real estate market are infrastructure, tax abatement and the millennial market.

PREIT held a grand opening of LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Philadelphia, an indoor family-friendly LEGO® play experience, at Plymouth Meeting Mall. The first-to-market attraction is also a first-to-portfolio tenant for PREIT, illustrating its strategy of revolutionizing the shopping experience for consumers. With a focus on family-friendly entertainment, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia reinforces Plymouth Meeting Mall’s transformation into a lifestyle destination in the Greater Philadelphia region. Currently 17 percent of PREIT’s retail space is committed to dining and entertainment tenants, such as LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

The sale of a multi-building, 5.5 acre retail parcel located at 5202 Baltimore Pike, Delaware County, Springfield PA, traded in the aka “The Golden Mile” for $7.425 million. The property, situated on a signalized corner at Baltimore Pike and Oak Avenue, was sold to BET Investments by Burlington Stores, Inc. The site will be redeveloped for retail uses.

Metropolitan Capital Advisors and AMA Financial arranged both the debt and equity for the acquisition of Northbrook Corporate Center in Trevose, PA. MCA and AMA (based in Pennsylvania), both members of the Real Estate Capital Alliance, teamed up to facilitate the financing on behalf of a partnership sponsored by Red River Asset Management. Northbrook is a 107,700 square foot class A office building. The business plan is to renew and extend the major tenants, renovate common areas, and lease up the few remaining vacant suites. The acquisition loan was funded by a bridge lender that included a future funding component to execute the business plan. The equity partner is a NYC based private investment firm focused on “middle market assets”. Scott Lynn, Founding Principal of MCA, and Gregg Wallace, President of AMA, were responsible for arranging the financing.
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