Friday, May 27, 2022
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Puttshack To Open First Philadelphia Location in Center City
By Javon Roach CoStar Research
Puttshack, an upscale, tech-infused mini golf venue, has signed a lease in Center City for its first Philadelphia location.
Puttshack is set to occupy 26,000 square feet within the Shops at Liberty Place at 1625 Chestnut St. for its maiden Philadelphia venue. The Philadelphia location is expected to open in summer 2023.
Puttshack opened its first two U.S. locations in Atlanta and Chicago in 2021, joining its four locations in London. New locations in the United States will open this summer in Boston and Miami, followed by Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh, Scottsdale, St. Louis, Dallas, Nashville and its second Atlanta location in 2023.
Its Center City location is set to include four tech-driven mini golf courses powered by its patented Trackball technology that keeps score and a "globally inspired" dining menu and cocktail program, Puttshack said in a release. The venue will also have multiple semi- and fully private event spaces for parties and include full-service bars.
"Philadelphia's bustling Center City blends historic sites with skyscrapers and premier destinations, making it a perfect choice for Puttshack," Dave Diamond, president of Puttshack, said in the release. "We can’t wait to bring our tech-infused mini golf experience to Philadelphia and be a part of such a historic and bustling neighborhood of the city."
Monday, May 23, 2022
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Breakthrough Properties to Develop 200K-SF Life Science Project
By Ingrid Tunberg Globest.com
Global developer of life science real estate Breakthrough Properties has acquired a site in Philadelphia with plans to develop more than 200,000 square feet of best-in-class life science space.
Through the project, Breakthrough Properties aims to support Philadelphia’s growing demand for modern lab space.
Located on the 2300 Market St. block in Philadelphia’s Center City district, the site is situated near University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and leading academic medical centers. The property is located between the lifestyle hubs of Rittenhouse Square and University City, and it offers nearby access to the 30th St. transit station, which provides access to the SEPTA bus, trolley and commuter rail lines and Amtrak train routes.
Greater Philadelphia is ranked first in the nation for the National Institutes of Health grant funding for cell and gene therapy. In 2021, the area attracted more than $3.8 billion in venture capital and NIH funding.
“Driven by a highly-educated workforce and an influx of funding flowing to its world-renowned academic research institutions, hospitals, biotech companies and innovative start-ups, Philadelphia has quickly established itself as a leader in the cell, gene and mRNA therapy space, which is driving increasing demand for high quality lab space,” states Aaron Kazam, SVP of acquisitions at Breakthrough Properties.
Kazam adds, “We are thrilled by this opportunity to deliver one of the premier research and development buildings in the country, just steps from 30th St. station and the institutional core at University City.”
For the project, Philadelphia-based D2 Capital Advisors assisted with site selection and will serve as financing advisor. Philadelphia-based architecture firm KieranTimberlake has been retained by Breakthrough Properties as project architect, and Cushman & Wakefield will serve as the development’s exclusive leasing agent.
The firm expects the project to be completed in 2024. The development represents Breakthrough Properties’ first project in Philadelphia.
The company now has more than 4.6 million square feet in its development and under-construction pipeline across the US and Europe. The firm targets LEED Gold certification at all of its US properties and BREEAM Outstanding certification in all of its projects across the UK and European Union.
Monday, May 16, 2022
DH Property Holdings Acquires Philadelphia Industrial Asset
DH Property Holdings, LLC, a leading developer and owner of urban infill industrial logistics facilities, has acquired 200 Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for $24 million. The fully tenanted 96,000-square-foot warehouse facility was formerly owned by Ivy Realty. The transaction marks DHPH’s sixth Class-B infill industrial asset acquisition in the last six months as part of the newly launched EIB Ventures I LP fund.
The Pattison Avenue property, set on 7.08 acres, features 25,000 square feet of cold storage, 19,000 square feet of freezer storage, 16 loading docks, 12-foot to 17-foot clear ceiling heights and additional features. 200 Pattison Avenue is fully occupied by tenants Preferred Meals, which has been a tenant for nearly 30 years, and Tristate Intermodal. Situated in South Philadelphia, only minutes from the city center, the property provides convenient access to the Philaport, I-95 and I-76.
This is the 4th Class-B industrial building acquisition in Philadelphia for DHPH for a total capitalization of $49.2 million across 280,000 square feet of space. As part of EIB Ventures I, DHPH has acquired six Class-B industrial buildings in the Northeast since June 2021, for a total capitalization of $102.3 million across 548,000 square feet.
In addition to its existing properties, DHPH currently has over 5 million square feet, or over $2.5 billion, of Class-A urban warehouses complete or under development throughout the Northeast, including in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.
The Newmark team of Michael Margolis, senior managing director; David Dolan, senior managing director; J Eustace Wolfington III, senior managing director, and Ryan Guittare, associate director, represented DHPH and Ivy Realty in the transaction.
“The acquisition of 200 Pattison Avenue further expands and diversifies the company’s portfolio,” said Hertz. “The property is positioned to thrive as demand for logistics space in the market continues to grow, and it provides powerful long-term value.”
Founded in 2016 by Dov Hertz, DHPH is a Manhattan-based industrial real estate development, investment and management firm that has been at the forefront of the industrial logistics trend, developing best-in-class distribution warehouses in complex and challenging urban environments. The company developed 640 Columbia Street, the first multi-story logistics center in New York City.
NJ Based, Lamar, Real Capital Snap Up Sixth Shopping Center for $60 Million
by Linda Moss Costar
New Jersey-based Lamar Cos. has purchased a shopping center in Pennsylvania for $60 million, one of a half-dozen acquisitions of retail properties it's recently closed totaling over $165 million.
Lamar, based in Fairfield, in conjunction with Real Capital Solutions of Louisville, Colorado, bought The Shops at Valley Square, a 293,550-square-foot "lifestyle center" in Warrington, Pennsylvania. The seller in the April transaction was Ares Real Estate Management Holdings of Los Angeles.
Prior to that, in February, Lamar and Real Capital acquired a four-shopping center portfolio in Puerto Rico. And in December last year, they purchased Stone Creek Towne Center, a shopping center in Cincinnati, for $25.8 million from DRA Advisors of New York City.
The Lamar-Real Capital partnership has acquired nearly $500 million in total over the past 11 years and is continuing to seek shopping centers across the United States and Puerto Rico.
The most recent purchase, The Shops at Valley Square, is a Class A, mixed-use lifestyle center with retail, office and the potential for multifamily development for over 300 units. It has roughly 293,550 square feet and was built in 2007.
The center is located in an affluent suburb about 16 miles north of Philadelphia at the intersection of Street Road and Easton Road, two of Bucks County's busiest commercial arteries, with cumulative traffic counts exceeding 69,000 vehicles a day, according to Lamar.
In addition to being shadow-anchored by a high-performing Wegmans supermarket, the Valley Square center features a tenant mix that includes Ulta Beauty, DSW, Banana Republic, P.F. Chang's, Playa Bowls and Panera Bread.
Friday, May 6, 2022
Philadelphia-based PREIT Mall Landlord Offers Long-Term Game Plan
By Linda Moss CoStar News
Mall owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust plans to raise capital, with $275 million in property sales in the works, to help pay down its debt and looks to unveil a long-term plan to address its nagging financial woes this summer.
Philadelphia-based PREIT reported its first-quarter earnings on Thursday, with CEO Joseph Coradino discussing the company's balance sheet, which at this juncture presents a much less rosy picture than its retail operations. The real estate investment trust, which is at risk of being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange, is poised to receive a one-year extension on its credit facilities, Coradino said during a conference call.
"It’s clear that the mission in front of us is to achieve the credit-facility extension and to raise capital to delever the balance sheet,” he said. "New opportunities to harvest capital are presenting themselves as a result of the strength of the markets we operate in and the compelling opportunity we’ve created."
PREIT said it expects $109 million of its $275 million in pending deals to close before June 30. The company already sold the Exton Square Mall in Exton, Pennsylvania, in March for $27.5 million.
The firm was one of three retail-property REITs to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020 amid the pandemic, when temporary store closures to stop the spread of the coronavirus wreaked havoc on malls and retailers. PREIT emerged from the proceedings after restructuring about a month after it filed. But it hasn't been an easy road back since then, as PREIT has sustained more than $600 million in losses since 2021, with $39.3 million in the first quarter this year.
In its first-quarter supplemental materials, PREIT said as of March 31 it was in compliance with the terms of its credit agreements.
"However, a material decline in future operating results could affect our ability to comply with the financial covenants, including additional covenants that came into effect starting on June 30," PREIT said.
But on the call, Coradino was reassuring, saying, "We are developing a longer-term plan that will demonstrate value to shareholders and an improved balance sheet that we expect to detail for you this summer."
He touted the strong performance many PREIT malls have enjoyed in the wake of the pandemic. For example, mall sales per square foot hit $613 in March, up from $603 at the end of last year. And strong leasing activity led to core-mall occupancy reaching 94%. PREIT has also had success finding tenants for vacant anchor stores.
PREIT is reviewing its options for the upcoming debt maturity, later this year, for the Cumberland Mall in Vineland, New Jersey, the Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, according to Coradino. All three of these properties have recently experienced strong sales and occupancy growth, he said.
The REIT's portfolio includes 25 retail properties, 24 of which are operating properties and one is a development property. The 24 operating retail properties have a total of 19.6 million square feet and include 20 shopping malls and four other retail properties.
In February, the NYSE informed PREIT it was out of compliance with the exchange's listing standards, which require a company's common stock to maintain a minimum average closing price of $1 per share over a consecutive 30-trading day period.
PREIT has until Aug. 4 to regain its compliance and is reviewing its options with its with advisers and board, according to Coradino.