Treetop Buys Apt. Towers, Pays $47M, to Invest $7M

By John Jordan, contributing writer for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com

Treetop Development, LLC of Teaneck, NJ, has acquired the 502-unit Charter Court apartment building here for $47.05 million.

The deal marks the firm's entrance into the Phladelphia multi-family market, say Adam Mermelstein and Azi Mandel, principals of Treetop. The company plans to invest another $7 million in upgrades to the twin, 11-story buildings in southwest Philadelphia and turn them into high-end apartments.

The acquisition fits with the company’s strategy to grow its portfolio of homes by acquiring value-added buildings in untapped residential neighborhoods in major northeastern cities, including New York City and Newark, NJ. In the past two years, Treetop Development has acquired nearly 2,000 apartments in strategic urban locations such as Morningside Heights, Rego Park, Queens and Upper Harlem.

“Charter Court was the perfect opportunity for us to enter into a dynamic rental market we firmly believe has strong pent up demand luxury apartments at reasonable pricing,” states Treetop’s Mermelstein. “This property has recently undergone $5 million of renovations by the previous owner to bring it on par with more expensive rental offerings in areas such as Center City. We plan millions more in upgrades to transform Charter Court into a high-end residential address that’s uncommon in northwest Philadelphia.

Treetop will be renovating all of the vacant units with high end finishes, including hardwood flooring, modern espresso cabinetry with blizzard white caesarstone, and fully renovated bathrooms. Treetop also plans to reconfigure the layout in many apartments to provide a more open floor plan. Treetop Development will also upgrade building mechanical systems, including the boilers and plumbing.

Company officials say the firm is currently pursuing several other residential portfolio style deals and anticipates investing in approximately $400 million worth of acquisitions throughout the year.

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Select Top Five Philadelphia Retail Leases Signed in Q4 2013

The select top retail lease signed during the fourth quarter of 2013 in the Philadelphia market was at Wishing Well Plaza in the North Burlington County submarket. ShopRite leased 90,000 square feet there. Fameco Real Estate represented the landlord. 

Giant Food leased 66,472 square feet at Ephrata Marketplace in the Lancaster County submarket. Colliers International represented the landlord. 

LA Fitness leased 52,248 square feet at Collegetown Shopping Center n the Gloucester County submarket. Brixmor Property Group represented the landlord. 

Philly Service Center leased 39,000 square feet at 6729 Essington Ave. in the South Philadelphia submarket. Binswanger represented the landlord in the direct deal. 

Habitat for Humanity signed a 25,690-square-foot lease at 530 Route 38 E. in the North Burlington County submarket. NAI Mertz represented the landlord. 

This trend is compared to the U.S. National Retail select largest new lease signings occurring in Q4 2013, which include the 230,000-square-foot deal by Wal-Mart in the Hampton Roads market; the 151,128-square-foot lease by Mariano's Fresh Market in the Chicago market; the 78,962-square-foot lease by Food 4 Less in the Los Angeles Market; and BJ's Wholesale Club signing a 240,448-square-foot lease during the third quarter in the Boston market. 
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Versa Capital Acquires Corporate Apartments Provider

By John Jordan, contributing writer for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com

Locally-based Versa Capital Management, LLC has acquired BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, an international provider of fully-furnished corporate apartments.

BridgeStreet has a portfolio of more than 50,000 corporate apartments in 60 countries. Versa's investment in the hospitality company follows on the heels of BridgeStreet’s recent rebranding. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

"BridgeStreet recently has made great strides in establishing itself as the leader of serviced apartment experiences worldwide,” said Gregory L. Segall, CEO of Versa Capital.

“Now that the company is strongly capitalized, with no third party debt, it is well-positioned to accelerate its growth," Segall said. He said the company plans to continue building BridgeStreet’s operations and services.

BridgeStreet CEO Sean Worker said, “Versa is the ideal owner for our strategy, with the resources and expertise to help us continue to build and grow." 

Versa Capital is a private equity investment firm with more than $1.4 billion of assets under management. Its portfolio includes retailers such as Avenue Stores, EMS and Bob’s Stores; restaurant Black Angus Steakhouses; community newspapers under Civitas Media; and systems manufacturers such as Bell and Howell.

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Amerimar Invests in 401 North Broad St.

By John Jordan, contributing writer for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com 

Locally-based Amerimar Enterprises Inc. and Abrams Capital of Boston have acquired 401 North Broad St. here from Stillman Property Group of New York City and plan to undertake a $70-million capital program on the 1.3-million-square-foot Internet and data center building.

Amerimar and Abrams say they are partnering with New York City-based communications network and real estate investor Hunter Newby to own and operate the property.

No financial terms of the transaction were released. Debt financing was provided by Starwood Property Trust. Ropes & Gray LLP, with a team led by partner Walter R. McCabe III, represented Amerimar and Abrams Capital in the purchase.

"Over the past 30 years, 401 North Broad was strategically repositioned to become the preeminent telecom carrier hotel in the Philadelphia region under the stewardship of The Stillman Group. Amerimar looks forward to continuing with the repositioning of the property through our $70-million capital improvement program," states Jerry Marshall, CEO of Amerimar. "401 North Broad, with over 80 networks, is a logical addition to our portfolio of carrier hotels; and we are very excited to partner with Hunter Newby on yet another telecom property."

The 11-story building was originally built in 1931 and has since been redeveloped into a fiber-dense, network-neutral facility, company officials state. The building serves as a major hub for data and Internet traffic and provides data center infrastructure for carriers, service providers, and enterprise customers.

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Two Leases Totaling 80,000 SF Signed at CrossPoint

By John Jordan, contributing writer for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com

The owners of the new CrossPoint at Valley Forge have announced they have signed two lease deals totaling 80,000 square feet at the 272,000-square-foot office development here.

The largest transaction was with Rovi Corp., an entertainment discovery firm, which signed a lease for approximately 65,000 square feet, according to officials with building owners The Davis Companies and MIM-Hayden Real Estate Funds. The CrossPoint at Valley Forge is currently undergoing a $19-million redevelopment that is nearing completion and recently received a temporary certificate of occupancy.

ColdLight Solutions, a firm engaged in advanced analytics, predictive technology and machine learning science, has inked a deal for 15,000 square feet at the property. With the lease signings, CrossPoint is current more than 60% leased. Prior to construction commencement on the redevelopment project, Teleflex Inc., a provider of medical devices used in critical care and surgery, signed an approximately 84,000-square-foot lease for its global headquarters.

Jonathan Davis, founder and CEO of The Davis Companies, states, “With this renovation, CrossPoint now offers best-in-class amenities. We understand that the place companies choose to call home is a key decision and know we have to offer the highest quality product to attract tenants of the caliber of ColdLight, Rovi and Teleflex. As employers we all want to attract the best talent to our teams; as creators of that work space The Davis Companies and our partners at MIM-Hayden are committed to offering a work environment that responds to our tenants’ every need. We are proud to have created one of the premier suburban office complexes in Philadelphia.”
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