"The Northern Liberties developer behind a planned Pathmark supermarket has asked a bankruptcy judge to clear the way for a different supermarket to open, if need be, at the old Schmidt's Brewery, where Pathmark holds a lease but has not yet opened its store.
"I petitioned the courts to have them do that a month ago," Bart Blatstein said Wednesday of efforts to enforce or dissolve his lease with Pathmark, whose parent company, A&P, has been in bankruptcy since December.
"Leave," Blatstein said. "I've got a bunch of operators that want to go there."
In a motion filed in March in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, Schmidts Retail L.P. asked for a ruling to compel A&P to assume or reject its lease on the Northern Liberties site near Blatstein's Piazza development.
Delays since A&P filed for bankruptcy are having ripple effects across the newly constructed project - an L-shaped center that would contain a second-story supermarket, with national chain retailers at street level. Delays also threaten the developer's financing obligations, according to court filings.
Pathmark's delays are affecting the ability to sign leases with other tenants, according to the motion.
"Schmidts' ability to rent other retail space in the Redevelopment Project has now virtually disappeared because prospective tenants and real estate brokers are concerned about whether Pathmark will occupy the premises," the motion said.
"This delay puts Schmidts in danger of breaching its financing obligations as to, and its leases with other tenants in, the Redeveloment Project," the developer said, and is hurting efforts to potentially sign a different supermarket operator, too.
Blatstein's motion came amid upheaval from the bankruptcy filing by Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc., which has stalled Pathmark's plans to open in the 52,000-square-foot-space he built in the heart of resurgent Northern Liberties.
A&P spokesman Eric Andrus declined to comment Wednesday on the company's intentions regarding the Northern Liberties site.
But a Schmidts executive, Adam Lisausky, said in an affidavit filed with the court that Pathmark officials told him they want to abandon ties to the project.
" ... the Debtors and their financial advisors have engaged in discussions with me and other executives at Schmidts regarding the Debtors' sale of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment already installed in the Premises to Schmidts," Lisausky said in the affadavit. "These discussions have also involved the timing of the Debtors' anticipated rejection of the Lease."
Blatstein's group and Pathmark entered into their lease agreement in September 2008 for what would represent the redeveloped neighborhood's only full-scale supermarket. Schmidts constructed the new Pathmark as part of a larger retail development and turned over the property to the grocer on Feb. 7, the filing said.
The Pathmark sign is up, but the store is not yet open for business. And over the last few months, its parent company has announced a slew of closures - not grand openings - across its mid-Atlantic holdings, including some area Pathmark and Superfresh stores, as it attempts to clean up its balance sheet.
Matt Ruben, president of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, said that residents were eager for the supermarket to open, but that word in recent weeks was that Blatstein was working on a Plan B to replace Pathmark, if necessary.
Ruben said he was confident Blatstein would fill the space sooner than later.
"If it's not a Pathmark, it will be something else," Ruben said. "My impression is that they intend to do everything in their power to open a supermarket at some time in that location.
Blatstein, the man most often credited with transforming Northern Liberties from a discarded industrial patch to a haven of homeownership for a generation of younger, aspirational Philadelphians, would say little about what other supermarket chains he was courting for the site.
But given that there has been considerable population and income growth in Northern Liberties in recent years - and no big supermarket yet in the immediate vicinity - he expressed confidence that another chain would be eager to slip into the space that has been built.
"It's beautiful," Blatstein said, "and it's ready to go."
Another grocery chain would be in place and ready to open "this summer," he said, while declining to elaborate on whether negotiations were under way.
A hearing on the Schmidts motion is set for April 28. A&P has until April 21 to file a response to Blatstein's request."
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Dr. Martens to open store on Walnut
by Natalie Kostelni, Staff Writer
"The Center City store will look like this one in SoHo.
Dr. Martens, the British-made boot that factory workers wore but later defined punk rockers, skinheads and other rebels, is opening a store on Walnut Street in Center City.
It will serve as the shoemaker’s fifth retail outlet in the United States and second on the East Coast.
The company signed a long-term lease on 3,800 square feet at 1710 Walnut St. on Rittenhouse Row after exploring several spaces.
“They didn’t want a cookie-cutter vanilla box or a mall look. They couldn’t find that in a lot of locations and there isn’t much available in Rittenhouse.”
The space at 1710 Walnut had been occupied by The Gap before it moved to 15th and Chestnut streets and was most recently vacated by Design Within Reach, a contemporary furniture store that closed.
Dr. Martens, which had traditionally been sold in other outlets, has maintained a flagship store in Portland, Ore., where its North American headquarters is located. It uses that shop to test new products. The company, however, began to sign leases to open additional retail outlets three years ago.
“There had been a resurgence in the brand in fashion,” said Mike Vincent, chief operating officer of Dr. Martens. “The trend, in general, has come back.”
Particularly with its boots. Taking a cue from the uptick, the company decided to seize on it.
“In a down economy, we ran into buildings that retailers were running out of,” he said.
It plans to open stores in key markets and cities in the United States and envisions having roughly no more than 10 locations. The SoHo section of Manhattan and Philadelphia will be the only two sites along the East Coast. The Philadelphia store will be the first to offer a new line of Dr. Martens’ apparel and accessories.
“I love it and the energy is there,” Vincent said about the Rittenhouse Row location. “We look at the demographics, energy and vibe of the city and we’re really excited by it.”
In addition, the company also tracks Internet sales and saw a robust business in the city, and it didn’t hurt that Vincent had gotten familiar with Philadelphia while his daughter attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We haven’t heard a peep out of them in years,” he said about Dr. Martens but is intrigued by its seeking to boost its retail presence.
“Converse, which has been around forever, is talking stores and is a neat brand pushing into the marketplace. One that didn’t work well was Esprit,” Steinberg said. “It remains to be seen how Dr. Martens will do.”
Dr. Martens will invest up to $500,000 to renovate the space, which aims to have a similar look to its SoHo store. Greenlight Architecture of New York is the designer. The store is scheduled to open in November.
"
"The Center City store will look like this one in SoHo.
Dr. Martens, the British-made boot that factory workers wore but later defined punk rockers, skinheads and other rebels, is opening a store on Walnut Street in Center City.
It will serve as the shoemaker’s fifth retail outlet in the United States and second on the East Coast.
The company signed a long-term lease on 3,800 square feet at 1710 Walnut St. on Rittenhouse Row after exploring several spaces.
“They didn’t want a cookie-cutter vanilla box or a mall look. They couldn’t find that in a lot of locations and there isn’t much available in Rittenhouse.”
The space at 1710 Walnut had been occupied by The Gap before it moved to 15th and Chestnut streets and was most recently vacated by Design Within Reach, a contemporary furniture store that closed.
Dr. Martens, which had traditionally been sold in other outlets, has maintained a flagship store in Portland, Ore., where its North American headquarters is located. It uses that shop to test new products. The company, however, began to sign leases to open additional retail outlets three years ago.
“There had been a resurgence in the brand in fashion,” said Mike Vincent, chief operating officer of Dr. Martens. “The trend, in general, has come back.”
Particularly with its boots. Taking a cue from the uptick, the company decided to seize on it.
“In a down economy, we ran into buildings that retailers were running out of,” he said.
It plans to open stores in key markets and cities in the United States and envisions having roughly no more than 10 locations. The SoHo section of Manhattan and Philadelphia will be the only two sites along the East Coast. The Philadelphia store will be the first to offer a new line of Dr. Martens’ apparel and accessories.
“I love it and the energy is there,” Vincent said about the Rittenhouse Row location. “We look at the demographics, energy and vibe of the city and we’re really excited by it.”
In addition, the company also tracks Internet sales and saw a robust business in the city, and it didn’t hurt that Vincent had gotten familiar with Philadelphia while his daughter attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We haven’t heard a peep out of them in years,” he said about Dr. Martens but is intrigued by its seeking to boost its retail presence.
“Converse, which has been around forever, is talking stores and is a neat brand pushing into the marketplace. One that didn’t work well was Esprit,” Steinberg said. “It remains to be seen how Dr. Martens will do.”
Dr. Martens will invest up to $500,000 to renovate the space, which aims to have a similar look to its SoHo store. Greenlight Architecture of New York is the designer. The store is scheduled to open in November.
"
Friday, April 8, 2011
Mormon Church buys property near temple site in Philadelphia
by Natalie Kostelni
"It’s a done deal for the Mormon Church.
The church has closed on the purchase of 1601 Vine St. in Center City, paying roughly $12.5 million for the parcel that sits next to a site where it plans to construct a new temple at 17th and Vine streets. The church bought the 2.1-acre site from Hudson Realty Capital, a New York investment firm that controlled the property. (Last year, the church bought the land it will use for the new temple for $7.5 million.)
The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority signed off last month to designate the church as developer for the property. The church hasn’t decided what to do with the site. It viewed the deal as an opportunity to buy the site now and eventually devise plans for it.
The church will assume the current zoning on the site, which can accommodate a large development. Four years ago, Grasso Holdings proposed a $315 million, 1.8-million-square-foot project that would have included two buildings. One structure was a 46-story tower that would have had a 250-room Intercontinental Hotel and 250 residential units. A second building would have had 300 residential units, and also included 130,000 square feet of retail space. Those plans were ditched."
"It’s a done deal for the Mormon Church.
The church has closed on the purchase of 1601 Vine St. in Center City, paying roughly $12.5 million for the parcel that sits next to a site where it plans to construct a new temple at 17th and Vine streets. The church bought the 2.1-acre site from Hudson Realty Capital, a New York investment firm that controlled the property. (Last year, the church bought the land it will use for the new temple for $7.5 million.)
The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority signed off last month to designate the church as developer for the property. The church hasn’t decided what to do with the site. It viewed the deal as an opportunity to buy the site now and eventually devise plans for it.
The church will assume the current zoning on the site, which can accommodate a large development. Four years ago, Grasso Holdings proposed a $315 million, 1.8-million-square-foot project that would have included two buildings. One structure was a 46-story tower that would have had a 250-room Intercontinental Hotel and 250 residential units. A second building would have had 300 residential units, and also included 130,000 square feet of retail space. Those plans were ditched."
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Avantor Performance Materials Inks 10-Year Deal
"Avantor Performance Materials, a high-performance materials and chemical manufacturer, signed a 10-year lease . The lease is for 57,000 square feet of office space at Saucon Valley Plaza, located at 3477 Corporate Parkway in Center Valley, PA. Avantor had outgrown its current location at 222 Red School Lane where it currently occupied 30,800 square feet.
The three-story office building totals 83,056 square feet completed in 2009. The building is in the Lehigh/Northampton submarket of Philadelphia."
The three-story office building totals 83,056 square feet completed in 2009. The building is in the Lehigh/Northampton submarket of Philadelphia."
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