By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
A nearly 50-year-old high-profile office building on the doorstep of the Cherry Hill Mall is being demolished as the beleaguered office market continues taking hits.
The nine-story, 116,742-square-foot building — known as One Cherry Hill — is owned by Philadelphia mall owner PREIT.
The building at 1 Mall Drive is in the Cherry Hill Mall’s parking lot. PREIT has made an effort in recent years to position parcels of land adjacent to its malls for residential or other development.
PREIT confirmed its plans to demolish the building but declined to comment on the future of the site. Cherry Hill Township officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The demolition was first reported by 42freeway.com.
One Cherry Hill was more than half empty earlier this year before the entire building was vacated.
The vacancy rate of office buildings in Camden County in the third quarter was 15.9%.
As the office market has dealt in recent years with tenants downsizing and more chunks of vacant space, developers have floated the idea of demolishing office buildings. The land itself, they argue, is as valuable or more valuable than the structure on top of it.
By demolishing One Cherry Hill, PREIT will have the opportunity to develop that section of the property or sell it as a development site. PREIT CEO Jared Chupaila, who began his role in April, has said the company’s top priority is creating liquidity.
Elsewhere in its portfolio, PREIT is adding new uses to traditional mall properties. At the Moorestown Mall, PREIT sold a 6.3-acre portion of the parking lot for $11.8 million to developer Bel Canto Asset Growth Fund, which is now planning to build 375 residential units at the site. Cooper University Health Care opened a $150 million, 166,000-square-foot outpatient campus at the Moorestown Mall in late 2023. A 100,000-square-foot family entertainment center reported as Parky’s is also being planned at the mall property.
At the Plymouth Meeting Mall, PREIT is looking to sell a piece of the parking lot where a developer could potentially build up to 275 residential units.
Full story: https://tinyurl.com/z64vzx5u
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.