Pennsylvania invests $30M into Navy Yard redevelopment

 By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is awarding a $30 million grant for the Philadelphia Navy Yard to create shovel-ready sites in an effort to attract businesses to the development.

The Navy Yard developers, joint venture partners Ensemble Investments and Mosaic Development Partners, are set to use the state funding for a 54-acre section of the South Philadelphia property. The land will be prepared for six lots to support 500,000 to 700,000 square feet of new advanced manufacturing and commercial space, according to Tuesday's funding announcement from Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The funding will support roadway and utilities work, soil excavation, grading and stormwater management as the Navy Yard continues to emerge as a life sciences, research and manufacturing hub.

"This investment accelerates our shared vision to create pad-ready sites to continue to attract top-tier businesses and position Philadelphia as a national hub for advanced industries," said Mark Seltzer, managing director of Ensemble, in a statement to the Business Journal.

The Navy Yard is one of 11 projects across the state that will collectively receive $64 million through the first round of grants from the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites (PA SITES) program, according to Shapiro and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger.

The Ensemble/Mosaic joint venture is in the middle of a $6 billion master plan to redevelop 109 acres at the Navy Yard. Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. awarded development rights to Ensemble/Mosaic in 2020.

The plan calls for 9 million square feet of space to be built, expected to result in 12,000 new jobs. The redevelopment project includes lab and manufacturing space for life sciences companies, 4,000 new apartments and 235,000 square feet of retail space.

Full story: http://tiny.cc/f50j001

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Gemma Services school plans new $52M campus for MLK Behavioral Health School

 By Ryan Mulligan – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Nonprofit Gemma Services is turning the former Plymouth Meeting headquarters of a medical device research firm into a new campus for its Martin Luther School.

The private K-12 school for students who need emotional and behavioral support will move from its current campus at 512 W. Township Line Road in Plymouth Meeting to the more than 20-acre property at 5200 Butler Pike come 2026.

The project will cost an estimated $52 million, said Gemma Services CEO Kristen Gay. It will see the organization convert the 80,000-square-foot former home base of nonprofit ECRI into over 30 classrooms while building an addition for elective learning spaces with a black box theater, a gymnasium and a library. Across the campus, the nonprofit is also looking to add outdoor learning space, multiple playgrounds and a track and sports field with stands if municipal funding is secured.

Gemma Services acquired the property for nearly $14 million in December from ECRI, Montgomery County property records show.

The organization is funding the project through a recently launched $3 million capital campaign, a loan, potential municipal funding and a significant grant from the Gemma Foundation, an independent entity that helps fund the nonprofit's operations. Over half of the $3 million goal was raised through a silent phase of the campaign, announced last week week.

Gemma Services was formed in 2019 by the merger of behavioral health nonprofits Silver Springs and the Village, both of which had roots dating back to the 1800s in Philadelphia.

Martin Luther School is a private K-12 school that gives students an individualized learning program. The current West Township Line Road property spans multiple buildings across 37 acres. Martin Luther School began incrementally adding high school grades in recent years and will graduate its first high school class this year. It has a student population of 230, pulling students from some 40 local school districts. Gay says the new campus will help the school expand to over 350 students in the coming years.

Full story: http://tiny.cc/x20j001

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Top property sales recognized for Philadelphia

 By CoStar Research

As big-ticket items involving sizable investments, commercial property transactions often have a wider impact within the local community. CoStar is pleased to recognize the following top deals completed during the first quarter in their respective markets.

TOP SALE: The Point at Berwyn, 400 W. Swedesford Road, Berwyn, PA

Sale Price: $96,500,000

Sale Date: February 25, 2025

Size: 295,648 SF

Buyer: Pantzer Properties, New York, NY

Seller: The Bozzuto Group, Greenbelt, MD

Deal Commentary: This 250-unit Berwyn apartment complex, built in 2023, traded to New York-based Pantzer Properties in a top first-quarter deal. The property has since been renamed The Point at Berwyn.

TOP SALE: Apartments at Glenmoore, 900 Selwyn Place, Glenmoore, PA

Sale Price: $58,000,000

Sale Date: February 19, 2025

Size: 284,792 SF

Buyer: Berger Communities, Wayne, PA

Seller: FPA Multifamily, San Francisco, CA

Deal Commentary: FPA Multifamily, a San Francisco-based private equity firm that had owned this 216-unit apartment complex in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, since 2018, sold the garden-style community to a local firm, Berger Communities, for $58 million in the first quarter.

TOP SALE: Exton Square Mall, 260 Exton Square Parkway, Exton, PA

Sale Price: $34,250,000

Sale Date: March 18, 2025

Size: 992,071 SF

Buyer: Abrams Realty & Development, Elkins Park, PA

Seller: PREIT, Philadelphia, PA

Deal Commentary: Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust finally parted with the nearly one million-square-foot Exton Square Mall in Exton, Pennsylvania, after putting the troubled, half-empty property back on the market following an effort to redevelop it into a mixed-use property. The buyer, Abrams Realty and Development, plans to demolish most of the 52-year-old mall and redevelop the area into over 600 apartments and townhomes with shops, entertainment, offices and other uses.

TOP SALE: 1235 Easton Road, Bethlehem, PA

Sale Price: $30,000,000

Sale Date: January 15, 2025

Size: 44,500 SF

Buyer: J. B. Hunt, Lowell, AR

Seller: J.G. Petrucci Co., Asbury, NJ

Deal Commentary: In another first-quarter deal, J.G. Petrucci Co., Inc. sold the 44,500 square foot industrial building to one of the current tenants.

TOP SALE: Barrington Mews, 2101 Reamer Drive, Barrington, NJ

Sale Price: Not disclosed

Sale Date: March 25, 2025

Size: 214,861.64 SF

Buyer: Axial Partners, Lakewood, NJ

Seller: A.A.H. Management Company, Voorhees, NJ

Deal Commentary: Axial Partners picked up this 284-unit senior housing complex in a first-quarter deal after its affordable-income restriction was lifted in 2024, and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency restrictions expired in early 2025. Formerly City Horizon Group, Axial Partners is a real estate investment firm that acquired its first duplex in 2016 and has since acquired numerous apartment properties.

TOP SALE: Village Center, 2301-2389 Pasqualone Blvd., Bensalem, PA

Sale Price: $28,925,000

Sale Date: March 10, 2025

Size: 117,205 SF

Buyer: ShopOne Centers REIT, New York, NY and Pantheon, London, UK

Seller: Gaetano T. Barone, New Hope, PA

Deal Commentary: ShopOne Centers REIT Inc. and its joint venture partner Pantheon continued to add to their shopping center portfolio with the first-quarter acquisition of two open-air retail shopping centers in Pennsylvania, Goodnoe’s Corner in Newtown, and Village Center in Bensalem. Anchored by an Acme grocery store, Village Center is positioned along major commuter routes within Bucks County. It has proven to be a resilient, long-term asset, according to a statement issued by the buyers.

TOP SALE: 350 Guthrie Road, King of Prussia, PA

Sale Price: $27,436,898

Sale Date: February 6, 2025

Size: 258,581 SF

Buyer: Legend Senior Living, Wichita, KS and Welltower, Inc., Toledo, OH

Seller: Anthology Senior Living, Denver, CO

Deal Commentary: Colorado-based Anthology Senior Living sold this 190-unit senior housing complex to its joint venture partners in a top first-quarter deal. The price worked out to $144,405 per unit. Built in 2021, the 11-story facility includes a mix of independent living, assisted living, and memory care units. Following the sale, the building was renamed Revelle King of Prussia.

TOP SALE: 2709 Commerce Way, Philadelphia, PA

Sale Price: $27,200,000

Sale Date: March 19, 2025

Size: 159,265 SF

Buyer: Cabot Properties, Boston, MA

Seller: Almo, Philadelphia, PA

Deal Commentary: Almo Corp. is one of the largest U.S. distributors of appliances, consumer electronics, professional audio/video equipment and housewares. It supplies a wide range of retailers, integrators, resellers, and e-tailers nationwide. In the first quarter, it executed a sale-leaseback of its flex building in Philadelphia with Cabot Properties.

TOP SALE: Fairless Hills Shopping Center, 500-524 Lincoln Hwy., Fairless Hills, PA

Sale Price: $23,600,000

Sale Date: January 3, 2025

Size: 189,998 SF

Buyer: Ocean State Job Lot, North Kingstown, RI

Seller: The Klein Group, Florham Park, NJ

Deal Commentary: After nearly a decade of ownership, The Klein Group divested the Fairless Hills shopping center to discount closeout retail chain Ocean State Job Lot. With a $23,600,600 price point, the new owner plans to join the current occupants at some point and fill the space available at the center.

TOP SALE: Bensalem Shopping Center, 1903-1969 Street Road, Bensalem, PA

Sale Price: $20,100,000

Sale Date: February 27, 2025

Size: 109,057 SF

Buyer: Chaman Popli, Newtown, PA

Seller: Empire Realty Investments, Philadelphia, PA

Deal Commentary: The fully occupied Bensalem Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Street and Hulmeville roads in a prime retail corridor 15 miles north of Center City Philadelphia, traded hands in a first-quarter deal amid robust demand for grocery-anchored retail centers. The fully leased center is anchored by Patel Brothers, the largest Indian grocery chain in the U.S.

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