by Peter Van Allen
"UPPER MERION — A stretch of Dekalb Pike could see some new retail blood in coming months.
A Target store under discussion for the Valley Forge Shopping Center is moving forward, while a Wawa and Chick-Fil-A are being talked about for the site of a former Petco, according to township officials and others with knowledge of the sites.
While the Wawa idea is still in the early stages and has not been formally proposed, engineers for the Target are undergoing studies and a formal proposal is expected soon, said Upper Merion Township Planner Rob Loeper.
“The project is moving forward. It’s taking a little longer,” said Loeper.
That’s good news for the retail stretch, which is just two miles from the King of Prussia Mall but a world away when it comes to consumer foot traffic.
While the nation’s second-largest mall has been able to attract the likes of Crate and Barrel, Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom, the stretch of Dekalb Pike, also Route 202, is wrestling with the vacancies of Petco and, across the street in the Valley Forge Shopping Center, 14 of the 38 retail locations, including a former Marshall’s store. Vacant stores range from 1,200 square feet to 32,000 square feet.
The 250,000-square-foot shopping center is anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond and Michael’s Arts & Crafts.
Within a five-mile radius of the shopping center, there are 74,000 households, with median household income of $76,000, according to Storetrax data provided by Metro Commercial Real Estate, which handles leasing for the retail center. An estimated 31,000 cars a day pass the site.
Eric Goldstein, executive director of the King of Prussia Business Improvement District, said new retail would be welcomed, though the organization hopes to work with developers to improve the quality of future development.
“Well, of course, the BID welcomes new retail projects to an already vibrant retail community, but we are hoping that future redevelopment efforts begin to pay more attention to [Route] 202 as King of Prussia’s Main Street,” said Goldstein, former director of University City District.
“What I mean by that from a land-use perspective is we would like to see more of the building masses on these projects pushed closer to the street with real efforts made to address quality improvements for pedestrians such as sidewalks, street trees and pedestrian-level street lighting.”
A formal proposal for a Wawa and Chick-Fil-A has not been made. Early discussion revolves around a so-called “super” Wawa store, which typically has a larger footprint and sells gasoline. The Wawa-based convenience store chain has 570 locations, including 200 with gasoline sales. Atlanta-based Chick-Fil-A, which has 1,500 restaurants, opened 80 locations last year.
The proposal for the Target would include tearing down much of the lower end of the Valley Forge Shopping Center, allowing for a big-box store but also additional parking. Some existing retail tenants would be relocated or would close. Negotiations with retailers affected are under way, Loeper said.
Target of Minneapolis has 1,750 stores. At present, the nearest Target stores are in Audubon and Plymouth Meeting.
“Because the [King of Prussia] mall is such a regional magnet, I think anyone with an attractive site plan is going to benefit from being near there. It can only add value,” said Paul Decker, president of the Valley Forge Convention & Visitors Bureau."
Friday, April 29, 2011
Law firm Conrad O’Brien jumping to Centre Square
by Natalie Kostelni
"After spending more than 20 years in the same offices at 1515 Market St. in Center City, law firm Conrad O’Brien will relocate to Centre Square.
The firm will move into its new 44,000-square-foot space this fall.
The deal is another hit for 1515 Market, a 20-story, 520,000-square-foot building that has experienced recent defections. And for Centre Square, the lease chips away at some 400,000 square feet of vacancy in the 1.8-million-square-foot building.
Conrad O’Brien signed a 12-year lease. It will occupy the 39th floor and a portion of the 40th, putting it at the top of the tower. Commonwealth REIT is the landlord. The 39th floor was left vacant by Lincoln National and the 40th floor became empty when Saul Ewing reshuffled its space in the building and renewed its lease there.
The firm looked along the West Market Street corridor and narrowed down to staying put, Three Logan and ultimately deciding on Centre Square.
“The views are terriffic and it’s a big upgrade for them,” Murray said. “They’ve been in their space for 21 years and were looking to start fresh and put a new stamp on their image.”
Patridge Architects is designing the space.
The firm expects to grow at Centre Square over the long term.
“We’ve enjoyed our time [at 1515 Market] but looking forward to the next decade and potentially up to the next 20 years at Centre Square,” said Nicholas Centrella, managing partner at the law firm. “Centre Square is a building that can accommodate our intended growth for the next 10 years, it is going to be fully renovated with major conference room ability. We think it’s a terrific opportunity at a great building with reliable ownership.”
For 1515 Market, the move puts another dent in the building’s occupancy, which has about 15 percent vacant. Zarwin Baum departed the building for 24,000 square feet at 1818 Market St.
“We’re sorry to see them go,” said Stockton Real Estate Advisors, which owns 1515, about Conrad O’Brien. “When Zarwin left, we made a conscious decision to be selective and focus on smaller tenants, which are better for a building like 1515. It creates diversity.”
The building is also facing another hurdle: A $70 million loan backed by 1515 was sent to a special servicer earlier this month. The loan matures in January and Stockton is current on its payments, according to Paterno and Trepp Ltd.
“It’s the only way to get a dialogue with a lender is to have a loan transferred to a special servicer,” Paterno said. “We anticipate we will restructure and extend the note.”
Stockton bought 1515 in 2007 for roughly $75 million. It’s not unusual for the loan, part of a tranche of commercial mortgage-backed securities, to be in special servicing. Lenders and borrowers continue to work out loan issues, negotiating new terms in some cases and in others, taking over the loan and property.
“The building was bought at the height of the market and landlords thought they could push rents up, tenants would continue to grow and the economy would continue to grow. When existing tenants grow, those are their most profitable deals and the tenants are captive. You know what? Tenants didn’t continue to expand, and when the market stalls, you’re also competing against sublease space in your building.”
The scenario is also “symptomatic of the balance of the market." An entrepreneurial landlord is competing with a deep-pocketed real estate investment trust who can spend lots of money on steep tenant improvement costs and other renovations, making it even more challenging for the little guy to compete.
“Well-capitalized landlords can successfully attract a law firm because it takes a lot of money to move a law firm.” “Any law firm that has been in its current space for more than 10 years has an obsolete design for the way you operate today. I think for a law firm that has been in their space for 20 years, there are different efficiencies gained in starting from new that help defray any costs of moving.”
The lease is a win for Centre Square, which continues to backfill about 400,000 square feet of space, most of which was vacated by Comcast Corp. when it moved to its new headquarters.
“This will take more than 10 percent of that vacancy,” said Dyer, about the law firm lease. “This deal comes on the heels of significant renewals in the building.”
"After spending more than 20 years in the same offices at 1515 Market St. in Center City, law firm Conrad O’Brien will relocate to Centre Square.
The firm will move into its new 44,000-square-foot space this fall.
The deal is another hit for 1515 Market, a 20-story, 520,000-square-foot building that has experienced recent defections. And for Centre Square, the lease chips away at some 400,000 square feet of vacancy in the 1.8-million-square-foot building.
Conrad O’Brien signed a 12-year lease. It will occupy the 39th floor and a portion of the 40th, putting it at the top of the tower. Commonwealth REIT is the landlord. The 39th floor was left vacant by Lincoln National and the 40th floor became empty when Saul Ewing reshuffled its space in the building and renewed its lease there.
The firm looked along the West Market Street corridor and narrowed down to staying put, Three Logan and ultimately deciding on Centre Square.
“The views are terriffic and it’s a big upgrade for them,” Murray said. “They’ve been in their space for 21 years and were looking to start fresh and put a new stamp on their image.”
Patridge Architects is designing the space.
The firm expects to grow at Centre Square over the long term.
“We’ve enjoyed our time [at 1515 Market] but looking forward to the next decade and potentially up to the next 20 years at Centre Square,” said Nicholas Centrella, managing partner at the law firm. “Centre Square is a building that can accommodate our intended growth for the next 10 years, it is going to be fully renovated with major conference room ability. We think it’s a terrific opportunity at a great building with reliable ownership.”
For 1515 Market, the move puts another dent in the building’s occupancy, which has about 15 percent vacant. Zarwin Baum departed the building for 24,000 square feet at 1818 Market St.
“We’re sorry to see them go,” said Stockton Real Estate Advisors, which owns 1515, about Conrad O’Brien. “When Zarwin left, we made a conscious decision to be selective and focus on smaller tenants, which are better for a building like 1515. It creates diversity.”
The building is also facing another hurdle: A $70 million loan backed by 1515 was sent to a special servicer earlier this month. The loan matures in January and Stockton is current on its payments, according to Paterno and Trepp Ltd.
“It’s the only way to get a dialogue with a lender is to have a loan transferred to a special servicer,” Paterno said. “We anticipate we will restructure and extend the note.”
Stockton bought 1515 in 2007 for roughly $75 million. It’s not unusual for the loan, part of a tranche of commercial mortgage-backed securities, to be in special servicing. Lenders and borrowers continue to work out loan issues, negotiating new terms in some cases and in others, taking over the loan and property.
“The building was bought at the height of the market and landlords thought they could push rents up, tenants would continue to grow and the economy would continue to grow. When existing tenants grow, those are their most profitable deals and the tenants are captive. You know what? Tenants didn’t continue to expand, and when the market stalls, you’re also competing against sublease space in your building.”
The scenario is also “symptomatic of the balance of the market." An entrepreneurial landlord is competing with a deep-pocketed real estate investment trust who can spend lots of money on steep tenant improvement costs and other renovations, making it even more challenging for the little guy to compete.
“Well-capitalized landlords can successfully attract a law firm because it takes a lot of money to move a law firm.” “Any law firm that has been in its current space for more than 10 years has an obsolete design for the way you operate today. I think for a law firm that has been in their space for 20 years, there are different efficiencies gained in starting from new that help defray any costs of moving.”
The lease is a win for Centre Square, which continues to backfill about 400,000 square feet of space, most of which was vacated by Comcast Corp. when it moved to its new headquarters.
“This will take more than 10 percent of that vacancy,” said Dyer, about the law firm lease. “This deal comes on the heels of significant renewals in the building.”
Center City Krispy Kreme opens next week
"Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will open its first Center City store on May 4, the franchise group said Monday.
The store, which will be at 41 S. 16th St., will open at 6 a.m. The first customer through the door will receive a dozen “original glazed” doughnuts every week for a year.
The local franchise group for Krispy Kreme is Dough Nuts for Dough Nuts LLC, which opened its first area location in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia in November.
It plans to open stores in Collingswood, N.J., and Bensalem, Pa., in late summer or fall.
Krispy Kreme, founded in 1937, is based in Winston-Salem, N.C. It has 640 stores worldwide."
The store, which will be at 41 S. 16th St., will open at 6 a.m. The first customer through the door will receive a dozen “original glazed” doughnuts every week for a year.
The local franchise group for Krispy Kreme is Dough Nuts for Dough Nuts LLC, which opened its first area location in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia in November.
It plans to open stores in Collingswood, N.J., and Bensalem, Pa., in late summer or fall.
Krispy Kreme, founded in 1937, is based in Winston-Salem, N.C. It has 640 stores worldwide."
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Market Trend: Philadelphia’s Office Vacancy Decreases to 12.0%
"Net Absorption Positive 416,169 SF in the Quarter
The Philadelphia office market ended the first quarter 2011 with a vacancy rate of 12.0%.
The vacancy rate was down over the previous quarter, with net absorption totaling positive 416,169 square feet in the first quarter. Vacant sublease space decreased in the quarter, ending the quarter at 1,901,517 square feet.
Rental rates ended the first quarter at $20.95, a decrease over the previous quarter.
A total of three buildings delivered to the market in the quarter totaling 43,400 square feet, with 1,512,440 square feet still under construction at the end of the quarter."
The Philadelphia office market ended the first quarter 2011 with a vacancy rate of 12.0%.
The vacancy rate was down over the previous quarter, with net absorption totaling positive 416,169 square feet in the first quarter. Vacant sublease space decreased in the quarter, ending the quarter at 1,901,517 square feet.
Rental rates ended the first quarter at $20.95, a decrease over the previous quarter.
A total of three buildings delivered to the market in the quarter totaling 43,400 square feet, with 1,512,440 square feet still under construction at the end of the quarter."
Monday, April 25, 2011
CHOP stays put and adds space in Wanamaker Building
by Natalie Kostelni
"The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has finally put another piece of its real estate in place and will remain in the Wanamaker Building in Center City.
In addition to renewing at the building, the hospital will also expand by a significant amount.
A year ago CHOP launched a comprehensive assessment of its real estate needs in the suburbs and downtown and has been chipping away at figuring out where it should be housing employees, researchers and satellite facilities. So far, it has made lease deals in Center City and University City but continues to deliberate what to do in the King of Prussia area.
In its latest deal, the hospital signed a new lease on a total of 252,000 square feet at Wanamaker at 100 Penn Square East. It had been occupying 192,000 square feet in the building and is expanding by roughly 60,000 square feet.
While Wanamaker was always an option, CHOP had also considered relocating to Centre Square at 15th and Market streets and 10 Penn Center at 1801 Market St. In the end, Wanamaker won out.
“It’s the best option for CHOP,” said Doug Carney, interim senior vice president of facilities at the hospital.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed other than that the lease was for the “long term.”
Though the hospital did look elsewhere, some brokers and other real estate observers had expected CHOP to remain in the Wanamaker building, although the expansion came as a surprise.
“It was anticipated they were going to renew.”
The hospital has a lot of moving parts, including two sites it bought over the South Street Bridge it can eventually develop, Smith said. If and when CHOP decides to go forward with building its master plan, Smith speculates Wanamaker and 3535 Market St., where CHOP signed last fall a five-year lease on 226,000 square feet, could eventually see “holes” open up.
“It depends on how the other buildings are priced out,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, it’s a cost exercise.”
The expansion part of the lease does help the Central Business District absorb some excess space in the market. Even though the lease doesn’t figure into first quarter data, the CBD is showing some slight signs of improvement. It saw vacancy stay flat at 14.2 percent compared with the end of the year and average rents rise by 75 cents a square foot in Class A, B and C space, according to first quarter data.
Absorption, or the amount of space that was taken off of the market, is in positive territory, however, it is concentrated in Class A space where tenants continue a flight-to-quality. Top-tier buildings experienced 233,191 square feet of positive absorption in the quarter while Class B and Class C were both negative, the research said."
"The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has finally put another piece of its real estate in place and will remain in the Wanamaker Building in Center City.
In addition to renewing at the building, the hospital will also expand by a significant amount.
A year ago CHOP launched a comprehensive assessment of its real estate needs in the suburbs and downtown and has been chipping away at figuring out where it should be housing employees, researchers and satellite facilities. So far, it has made lease deals in Center City and University City but continues to deliberate what to do in the King of Prussia area.
In its latest deal, the hospital signed a new lease on a total of 252,000 square feet at Wanamaker at 100 Penn Square East. It had been occupying 192,000 square feet in the building and is expanding by roughly 60,000 square feet.
While Wanamaker was always an option, CHOP had also considered relocating to Centre Square at 15th and Market streets and 10 Penn Center at 1801 Market St. In the end, Wanamaker won out.
“It’s the best option for CHOP,” said Doug Carney, interim senior vice president of facilities at the hospital.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed other than that the lease was for the “long term.”
Though the hospital did look elsewhere, some brokers and other real estate observers had expected CHOP to remain in the Wanamaker building, although the expansion came as a surprise.
“It was anticipated they were going to renew.”
The hospital has a lot of moving parts, including two sites it bought over the South Street Bridge it can eventually develop, Smith said. If and when CHOP decides to go forward with building its master plan, Smith speculates Wanamaker and 3535 Market St., where CHOP signed last fall a five-year lease on 226,000 square feet, could eventually see “holes” open up.
“It depends on how the other buildings are priced out,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, it’s a cost exercise.”
The expansion part of the lease does help the Central Business District absorb some excess space in the market. Even though the lease doesn’t figure into first quarter data, the CBD is showing some slight signs of improvement. It saw vacancy stay flat at 14.2 percent compared with the end of the year and average rents rise by 75 cents a square foot in Class A, B and C space, according to first quarter data.
Absorption, or the amount of space that was taken off of the market, is in positive territory, however, it is concentrated in Class A space where tenants continue a flight-to-quality. Top-tier buildings experienced 233,191 square feet of positive absorption in the quarter while Class B and Class C were both negative, the research said."
555 City Ave. locks in tenants
by Natalie Kostleni
"BALA CYNWYD — The Philadelphia office of Beasley Broadcast Group Inc., which owns 92.5XTU country radio station and Wired 96.5, is among a handful of tenants who have renewed leases at 555 City Ave., securing the property’s occupancy for the long term.
Beasley moved to the building in 1990 and extended its lease on 15,000 square feet for another 15 years. The decision came after the company considered other options in the office submarket.
“The location is ideal from an operational standpoint as well as for our sales department,” said Natalie Conner, vice president and market manager at Beasley Broadcast Philadelphia. “But when it’s all said and done, this is home for lots of reasons. We have a longstanding relationship with these people, and they made it very clear they wanted to keep us here.”
Other tenants also renewed. New York Life signed for 22,000 square feet, Group Dynamics stayed on for 9,600 square feet, MetroNetwork extended its lease on 7,000 square feet, and Kerby Jewelers will stay in its lease until 2015 on 350 square feet with plans to renew after that.
Alan Castle, who owns Kerby Jewelers, moved into what is commonly referred to as simply “555” 21 years ago.
“I based it on traffic and an upscale neighborhood,” Castle said. “I needed people with disposable income and even in a down time, everyone who comes to my store is working. The building has proved very successful for me. They will carry me out of here.”
Castle is so keen on 555 that he made up T-shirts made with “Kerby Jewelers, 555 Building, Bala Cynwyd” emblazoned on them.
“In Europe or the Jersey Shore, people will stop me when I’m wearing the shirt and tell me they know the building,” Castle said. “It’s a landmark.”
The building’s distinctive blue rooftop 555 sign can be seen from the Schuylkill Expressway and afar. Though not a towering skyscraper, it’s prominent. It helped spur additional office development in Bala Cynwyd and establish it as one of the region’s most desirable office submarkets.
The Rubin family, which has been entrenched in Philadelphia real estate for decades, bought seven acres on which 555 is located in 1963 for $100,000 an acre. At the time, Bala Cynwyd was considered a distant suburban outpost though it was just across the street from Philadelphia. A Marriott stood where 401 City Ave. now sits and the Rubins thought maybe another hotel would be a good fit for the land.
The hotel would be called La Ronde. It would be a round structure with a revolving restaurant at the top that would compete with the Kona Kai restaurant at the Marriott that always seemed busy and a place to celebrate special occasions. La Ronde was never constructed.
At the time, a young Ron Rubin was working with John A. Robbins, who was constructing strip centers throughout the region. Rubin, now chairman and CEO of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, a Philadelphia real estate company, handled leasing the small shopping centers Robbins built. Robbins ended up serving as a mentor for Rubin.
While the hotel concept never materialized, an idea to construct an office building came about. Bala Cynwyd had some offices at the time but they were all mostly occupied by companies such as Gulf Oil, Esso, Liberty Mutual and General Refractories Co. as headquarters or for local offices.
The Robbins and Rubins teamed up to construct the building. Robbins, who also ran a construction company, designed it as an 11-story, 128,000-square-foot structure. He borrowed the money to move forward with the project and had the idea to call the building 555 City Avenue, according to Rubin. It sounded good enough and the name stuck.
The building would cost $4 million to construct and was built on speculation with no tenants lined up to occupy the space. It opened in 1964 with a restaurant called the Red Coach Grill that was owned by Howard Johnson’s. Its first tenant was Sherwin Williams, which took a floor for a district office at $3 a square foot, less than the asking rate.
“Four dollars was what we were renting space for,” Rubin said. “We were getting killed.”
The strategy to lease up the building was simple and is still relied upon today by Bala Cynwyd landlords.
“We were trying to pull tenants out of Philadelphia because of the tax situation and we had a hell of a time,” Rubin recalled. “We struggled.”
With the lure of lower taxes and free parking, which a tenant couldn’t get downtown, 555 finally leased up with a bevy of small tenants. It took two years.
Among the companies that moved in were New York Life, John Hancock and First Pennsylvania, which also built a branch in the building. First Pennsylvania was the financial institution that lent the developers the money to fund the construction of 555. When the Red Coach eventually moved out, Charley’s Place replaced it and now Houlihan’s fills the 9,350-square-foot restaurant space. The building’s occupancy rate has steadily remained around 95 percent throughout the years and rents now stand at $31.50 a square foot.
One other facet of the building that also has remained steady for the past 47 years is the 50-50 partnership formed between the Robbins-Sablosky families and the Rubins to own 555.
“It’s a great building and a great partnership,” said Chris Robbins, whose grandfather was John Robbins and who now runs the Robbins Cos."
"BALA CYNWYD — The Philadelphia office of Beasley Broadcast Group Inc., which owns 92.5XTU country radio station and Wired 96.5, is among a handful of tenants who have renewed leases at 555 City Ave., securing the property’s occupancy for the long term.
Beasley moved to the building in 1990 and extended its lease on 15,000 square feet for another 15 years. The decision came after the company considered other options in the office submarket.
“The location is ideal from an operational standpoint as well as for our sales department,” said Natalie Conner, vice president and market manager at Beasley Broadcast Philadelphia. “But when it’s all said and done, this is home for lots of reasons. We have a longstanding relationship with these people, and they made it very clear they wanted to keep us here.”
Other tenants also renewed. New York Life signed for 22,000 square feet, Group Dynamics stayed on for 9,600 square feet, MetroNetwork extended its lease on 7,000 square feet, and Kerby Jewelers will stay in its lease until 2015 on 350 square feet with plans to renew after that.
Alan Castle, who owns Kerby Jewelers, moved into what is commonly referred to as simply “555” 21 years ago.
“I based it on traffic and an upscale neighborhood,” Castle said. “I needed people with disposable income and even in a down time, everyone who comes to my store is working. The building has proved very successful for me. They will carry me out of here.”
Castle is so keen on 555 that he made up T-shirts made with “Kerby Jewelers, 555 Building, Bala Cynwyd” emblazoned on them.
“In Europe or the Jersey Shore, people will stop me when I’m wearing the shirt and tell me they know the building,” Castle said. “It’s a landmark.”
The building’s distinctive blue rooftop 555 sign can be seen from the Schuylkill Expressway and afar. Though not a towering skyscraper, it’s prominent. It helped spur additional office development in Bala Cynwyd and establish it as one of the region’s most desirable office submarkets.
The Rubin family, which has been entrenched in Philadelphia real estate for decades, bought seven acres on which 555 is located in 1963 for $100,000 an acre. At the time, Bala Cynwyd was considered a distant suburban outpost though it was just across the street from Philadelphia. A Marriott stood where 401 City Ave. now sits and the Rubins thought maybe another hotel would be a good fit for the land.
The hotel would be called La Ronde. It would be a round structure with a revolving restaurant at the top that would compete with the Kona Kai restaurant at the Marriott that always seemed busy and a place to celebrate special occasions. La Ronde was never constructed.
At the time, a young Ron Rubin was working with John A. Robbins, who was constructing strip centers throughout the region. Rubin, now chairman and CEO of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, a Philadelphia real estate company, handled leasing the small shopping centers Robbins built. Robbins ended up serving as a mentor for Rubin.
While the hotel concept never materialized, an idea to construct an office building came about. Bala Cynwyd had some offices at the time but they were all mostly occupied by companies such as Gulf Oil, Esso, Liberty Mutual and General Refractories Co. as headquarters or for local offices.
The Robbins and Rubins teamed up to construct the building. Robbins, who also ran a construction company, designed it as an 11-story, 128,000-square-foot structure. He borrowed the money to move forward with the project and had the idea to call the building 555 City Avenue, according to Rubin. It sounded good enough and the name stuck.
The building would cost $4 million to construct and was built on speculation with no tenants lined up to occupy the space. It opened in 1964 with a restaurant called the Red Coach Grill that was owned by Howard Johnson’s. Its first tenant was Sherwin Williams, which took a floor for a district office at $3 a square foot, less than the asking rate.
“Four dollars was what we were renting space for,” Rubin said. “We were getting killed.”
The strategy to lease up the building was simple and is still relied upon today by Bala Cynwyd landlords.
“We were trying to pull tenants out of Philadelphia because of the tax situation and we had a hell of a time,” Rubin recalled. “We struggled.”
With the lure of lower taxes and free parking, which a tenant couldn’t get downtown, 555 finally leased up with a bevy of small tenants. It took two years.
Among the companies that moved in were New York Life, John Hancock and First Pennsylvania, which also built a branch in the building. First Pennsylvania was the financial institution that lent the developers the money to fund the construction of 555. When the Red Coach eventually moved out, Charley’s Place replaced it and now Houlihan’s fills the 9,350-square-foot restaurant space. The building’s occupancy rate has steadily remained around 95 percent throughout the years and rents now stand at $31.50 a square foot.
One other facet of the building that also has remained steady for the past 47 years is the 50-50 partnership formed between the Robbins-Sablosky families and the Rubins to own 555.
“It’s a great building and a great partnership,” said Chris Robbins, whose grandfather was John Robbins and who now runs the Robbins Cos."
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