A vague headline for a deceptive building. For behind the concrete walls of 1818 Market there's actually a lot of activity, including the newest digs for Philly's oldest bank. It's another reflection of Center City's hot office market.
In 2012, Cushman & Wakefield took on the repping duties for the 987k SF, 37-story, Class-A building, managed by Daymark Realty Advisors. Occupancy has since climbed from 77.5% to 92.5%. The largest new tenant is Beneficial Bank, moving from Independence Square into 96k SF. Last quarter, C&W also reworked a long-term lease for Five Below to extend its HQ to two full floors at 60k SF. (No word whether the lease was below $5/SF.) Other tenants include Medical Guardian (grew by 10k SF in '13), Metro Corp, Sunoco Logistics, and E-Research Technology.
This morning, we snapped Medical Guardian prez Geoff Gross (second from left) at his HQ with Daymark GM Lou Lombardi and C&W's Jason Bernardi and Roger McManimon. (C&W's Jack Meyers is also on the team.) 1818’s open-plan floors, on-site parking, and four-direction views make it attractive to mid-to-large-sized tenants, Roger tells us. Think Old City loft-like: Beneficial, Five Below, and Medical Guardian all have exposed ceilings, but you'll also find "designs at both ends of the spectrum," adds Jason, from traditional mahogany in Beneficial's space to trendy concrete floors in Five Below's.
1818 has a limited number of vacant suites on top and smaller spaces on the 30th floor, from which we snapped this city view. Roger is optimistic about Center City’s office market, and not just because of last week's Comcast announcement. On paper, 2013's absorption looked lackluster, but a lot of that was GlaxoSmithKline’s move to the Navy Yard, which left behind 600k SF of space. Indeed, the CBD enjoyed over 2M SF in leasing activity last year, a 20% improvement over 2012. Meanwhile, Glaxo's old space at One Franklin Square is for sale. (If the idea of buying it gives you heartburn, there's probably some Zantac lying around that building.)
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