A soaring skyscraper planned for Downtown Camden could soon be the tallest office tower in South Jersey.
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The 25-story, 500K SF Beacon Building will be built above the soon-to-be-renovated Walter Rand Transportation Center in Downtown Camden, officials announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The project is a partnership between developer Gilbane and NJ Transit, which owns the nearly 40-year-old station where the Port Authority Transit Corp. line and 24 bus routes stop, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
The $250M redevelopment plan for this section of Downtown Camden also includes a public square and a new parking deck.
Cooper University Health, whose sprawling campus defines much of the neighborhood, will occupy some of the office space. Officials also hope that the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts will relocate to the building.
“The Beacon Building will signal to the region that Camden is not only a city of promise on the rise, but it is also the place to do business and the center of the Eds and Meds universe for the state of New Jersey,” Camden County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash said in a statement.
“This building will be the perfect complement for other anchor institutions in the area and will be a catalyst for continued economic development in the city and county.”
SALES
Conshohocken-based Morgan Properties has expanded into Kentucky with the $39M purchase of the 236-unit Blankenbaker Crossings complex in Louisville. The company’s U.S. portfolio now extends to 20 different states.
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Scope Commercial Real Estate Services arranged the roughly $20M sale of three multifamily properties with 132 units across the Lehigh Valley.
They include the 80-unit Aspen Apartments in Whitehall and two complexes on the east side of Allentown, a 24-apartment property at 501-26 S. Austin St. in Allentown, and a 28-unit complex at 855-868 N. Ulster St.
Scope Vice President Zeke Rotter helped coordinate all three transactions.
LEASES
JLL coordinated more than 37K SF worth of lease agreements at Commerce Center, a three-building office complex at 1820 Chapel Ave. in Cherry Hill. The facility is now 70% occupied.
Premier Workspaces inked a nearly 25K SF lease for the entire top floor of one building, and Kremer Eye signed on for nearly 10K SF.
Rick Widerman and Dan Close of JLL represented the Commerce Center’s landlord during these transactions.
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Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia has signed a lease for a nearly 20K SF retail facility at 1001 Fischer Blvd. in Toms River. The store, expected to open this summer, was previously a Crunch Fitness location. Vantage Commercial CEO Leor Hemo helped Goodwill identify the space.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
MRA Group is preparing to break ground on a new Marriott Residence Inn at the Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park in Wilmington next month. The partnership with Gulf Creek Hotels will bring 127 rooms, a restaurant and a full-service bar to the development about 5 miles west of Downtown Wilmington.
D2 Capital Advisors arranged construction financing for the project. WSFS Bank, Nuveen Green Capital and Sustainable Energy Utility Inc. are the lenders.
FINANCING
American Real Estate Partners has completed a four-year loan extension at the 1600 Market St. office property in Center City. Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking and BlackRock were senior lenders, and JPMorgan Chase provided mezzanine funding.
THIS AND THAT
Center City District received a $2M grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build out the second phase of The Rail Park connecting Vine Street and Fairmount Avenue. The organization hopes this will spur development nearby.
The Viaduct Greenway project will convert a roughly half-mile abandoned railroad viaduct into an active transportation trail. The Rail Park, once known as the Reading Viaduct, was built in the 1890s and hasn’t seen any rail activity since 1984.
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