"Mercury Media, the largest privately-owned, full service direct response media agency in the country, has leased 2,757 SF of office space at 550 American Avenue,
Suite 303, Valley Forge Square 1 in King of Prussia.
The Westover Companies are the owners/developers of Valley Forge Square 1."
"This is the first office in the Philadelphia area that Mercury Media has opened. They are headquartered in Marlboro, Massachusetts and have offices in Santa Monica, California. The Philadelphia branch will service all categories of short form DRTV with specialization in cross-platform direct response marketing and lead generation solutions for the package goods, financial services, healthcare and insurance industries."
Valley Forge Square 1 is a 30,000 SF Class A office building which was built by The Westover Companies in 1990. This is an attractive brick building with lots of windows which provide spectacular views of the countryside. Conveniently located less than one mile from the King of Prussia Mall, PA Turnpike, Routes 76, 202 and 422."
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
CNBC Videos- Commercial Real Estate
Investing in REITs:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1575238857&play=1
Pulse of the Commercial Real Estate Market:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1575283853&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1575238857&play=1
Pulse of the Commercial Real Estate Market:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1575283853&play=1
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Parent of Pitcairn Properties files for Chapter 11
"The parent company of Pitcairn Properties filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, a move that will buy the Jenkintown real estate firm time to stave off a takeover attempt by an unhappy investor.
Pitcairn Properties Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
In a statement, company chief executive officer Salah A. Mekkawy described the filing as a "legal move to implement a fair and rational framework to restructure, but not reduce, the company's debt and capital structure."
The company listed $10 million to $50 million in debts. The company said it had about $800 million in real estate holdings.
Among PPH's largest outstanding debts is $7.56 million in dividends owed to an investment firm that has sued for payment.
The firm, PPH Investments L.L.C., is owned by Eric L. Blum. Blum, through his firm, has $50 million invested in Pitcairn. In his suit seeking payment, Blum contends that his investment agreement gives him the right to appoint a majority of Pitcairn's board. He is demanding to do so.
Pitcairn Properties has countersued, contending that Blum's demands would unfairly wipe out other Pitcairn stockholders and force the liquidation of $800 million in real estate at the worst possible time.
Jim Matour, Pitcairn's bankruptcy attorney, said Pitcairn was still a viable company, but one with the vast majority of its assets tied up in real estate and thus not liquid. Bankruptcy will permit Pitcairn the time to free assets to settle the debt to Blum.
Matour said he expected the company to file a reorganization plan this week.
"It is important to know that this filing has no impact on the day-to-day operations of the company," he said.
Said Mekkawy: "We look forward to a bright future and want to reassure our partners and investors that we expect to emerge promptly from reorganization pursuant to a plan that protects the value of the company even as it honors the obligations to all of its creditors."
Pitcairn Properties has roots in a fortune created by John Pitcairn, a 19th-century Scottish-born American industrialist who founded Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., which later was known as PPG.
There are about 600 living descendants of John Pitcairn. About half have a combined $1 billion in the wealth manager Pitcairn Trust Co., which is unrelated to Pitcairn Properties.
Pitcairn Properties was created in 1968 to diversify the family wealth.
Among its holdings are 6 Penn Center in Philadelphia, the Eagleview Corporate Center in Exton, and Chesterbrook and Glenhardie corporate centers in Wayne."
Pitcairn Properties Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
In a statement, company chief executive officer Salah A. Mekkawy described the filing as a "legal move to implement a fair and rational framework to restructure, but not reduce, the company's debt and capital structure."
The company listed $10 million to $50 million in debts. The company said it had about $800 million in real estate holdings.
Among PPH's largest outstanding debts is $7.56 million in dividends owed to an investment firm that has sued for payment.
The firm, PPH Investments L.L.C., is owned by Eric L. Blum. Blum, through his firm, has $50 million invested in Pitcairn. In his suit seeking payment, Blum contends that his investment agreement gives him the right to appoint a majority of Pitcairn's board. He is demanding to do so.
Pitcairn Properties has countersued, contending that Blum's demands would unfairly wipe out other Pitcairn stockholders and force the liquidation of $800 million in real estate at the worst possible time.
Jim Matour, Pitcairn's bankruptcy attorney, said Pitcairn was still a viable company, but one with the vast majority of its assets tied up in real estate and thus not liquid. Bankruptcy will permit Pitcairn the time to free assets to settle the debt to Blum.
Matour said he expected the company to file a reorganization plan this week.
"It is important to know that this filing has no impact on the day-to-day operations of the company," he said.
Said Mekkawy: "We look forward to a bright future and want to reassure our partners and investors that we expect to emerge promptly from reorganization pursuant to a plan that protects the value of the company even as it honors the obligations to all of its creditors."
Pitcairn Properties has roots in a fortune created by John Pitcairn, a 19th-century Scottish-born American industrialist who founded Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., which later was known as PPG.
There are about 600 living descendants of John Pitcairn. About half have a combined $1 billion in the wealth manager Pitcairn Trust Co., which is unrelated to Pitcairn Properties.
Pitcairn Properties was created in 1968 to diversify the family wealth.
Among its holdings are 6 Penn Center in Philadelphia, the Eagleview Corporate Center in Exton, and Chesterbrook and Glenhardie corporate centers in Wayne."
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Westinghouse seeks new Philly-area HQ
"Westinghouse Lighting is planning to sell its 230,000-square-foot world headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia, and find a new home, preferably nearby.
"It most likely will be smaller," says Kathleen Katz, senior director of marketing at Westhinghouse. The company moves its imported lightbulb inventory faster, ships goods pre-packaged, and doesn't need all the warehouse and product-finishing space anymore.
It would be convenient to stay in Philadelphia, but "we can walk into Bucks County," so that and other nearby locations are also possible, Katz told me. Before finding a new location, "we want to find out the market for selling the existing building," constructed by the former William F. Lotz & Co., builder to three generations of Philadelphia factory owners when the city was an industrial center.
They hope to sell the building for around $40 a square foot, which is around what new facilities are selling for in Pennsylvania's import-storage warehouse corridors along I-81 and I-78. It would cost $75/sq ft to replace the facility, he figures. "We think it's probably the premier piece of industrial real estate available in Philadelphia," Roddy added. But "it is a large facility" and such deals "don't happen overnight."
"It most likely will be smaller," says Kathleen Katz, senior director of marketing at Westhinghouse. The company moves its imported lightbulb inventory faster, ships goods pre-packaged, and doesn't need all the warehouse and product-finishing space anymore.
It would be convenient to stay in Philadelphia, but "we can walk into Bucks County," so that and other nearby locations are also possible, Katz told me. Before finding a new location, "we want to find out the market for selling the existing building," constructed by the former William F. Lotz & Co., builder to three generations of Philadelphia factory owners when the city was an industrial center.
They hope to sell the building for around $40 a square foot, which is around what new facilities are selling for in Pennsylvania's import-storage warehouse corridors along I-81 and I-78. It would cost $75/sq ft to replace the facility, he figures. "We think it's probably the premier piece of industrial real estate available in Philadelphia," Roddy added. But "it is a large facility" and such deals "don't happen overnight."
Liberty Property gets new line of credit
"Liberty Property Trust closed on a new $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility, replacing its previous $600 million credit facility that was scheduled to come due in January.
The new line of credit matures Nov. 1, 2013, and contains an accordion feature which allows Liberty to increase the amount up to $750 million. For this financing, Banc of America Securities LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. were joint lead arrangers and bookrunners. Liberty is an office and industrial real estate investment trust based in Malvern, Pa. …
Sun Center Studios will top off a 30,000-square-foot office building that is part of an overall $85 million project that includes movie studios on 33 acres off Concord Road in Aston. Production companies are expected to lease the office space. At build-out the facility will total 270,000 square feet … Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, a Philadelphia law firm, relocated its Cherry Hill office into 7,300 square feet at Woodland Falls Corporate Park at 200 Lake Drive East. The firm had been in 6,000 square feet at 20 Brace Road …
Pendent Systems bought 1670 Winchester Road, a 24,000-square-foot building in Bensalem, for an undisclosed amount. The company is a maker of pendants , canopy sets and cable parts used in fluorescent lighting suspension, track lighting, exit lighting and HID lighting markets."
The new line of credit matures Nov. 1, 2013, and contains an accordion feature which allows Liberty to increase the amount up to $750 million. For this financing, Banc of America Securities LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. were joint lead arrangers and bookrunners. Liberty is an office and industrial real estate investment trust based in Malvern, Pa. …
Sun Center Studios will top off a 30,000-square-foot office building that is part of an overall $85 million project that includes movie studios on 33 acres off Concord Road in Aston. Production companies are expected to lease the office space. At build-out the facility will total 270,000 square feet … Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, a Philadelphia law firm, relocated its Cherry Hill office into 7,300 square feet at Woodland Falls Corporate Park at 200 Lake Drive East. The firm had been in 6,000 square feet at 20 Brace Road …
Pendent Systems bought 1670 Winchester Road, a 24,000-square-foot building in Bensalem, for an undisclosed amount. The company is a maker of pendants , canopy sets and cable parts used in fluorescent lighting suspension, track lighting, exit lighting and HID lighting markets."
Elizabethtown Apartment Complex Sells for $1.7M
"The Campus View Apartments in Elizabethtown, PA, sold for $1.7 million, or $53,125 per unit, in a sale between private investors.
Located at 955 Campus Road, the apartment complex contains 32-units and sits on three acres of land. It includes 24 garden-style two bedroom units and eight two-bedroom townhouses. This property was sold utilizing a 1031 Exchange with another investment property already under contract."
Located at 955 Campus Road, the apartment complex contains 32-units and sits on three acres of land. It includes 24 garden-style two bedroom units and eight two-bedroom townhouses. This property was sold utilizing a 1031 Exchange with another investment property already under contract."
Brandywine Sells Exton Bldg. for $3.9M
"Brandywine Realty Trust sold the office building at 479 Thomas Jones Way in Exton, PA, to Dunn Twigger Co. LLC for $3.9 million, nearly $80 per square foot.
The 49,264-square-foot office building was constructed in 1988 on a 4.4-acre parcel in the Oaklands Corporate Center. The building was roughly 35% vacant at the time of sale. Dunn Twigger Co. will act as asset and property manager."
The 49,264-square-foot office building was constructed in 1988 on a 4.4-acre parcel in the Oaklands Corporate Center. The building was roughly 35% vacant at the time of sale. Dunn Twigger Co. will act as asset and property manager."
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