Three years after the land was purchased, construction has commenced on a rare new mixed-use shopping center in Montgomery County.
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Hightop Development has broken ground on The District at Black Rock, which is set to deliver on a 28-acre former Quest Diagnostics campus in the fourth quarter of 2027. It will include 120K SF of retail space and 120 owner-occupied townhomes.
The project at 1201 Collegeville Road is 89% preleased, with a roster including Whole Foods Market, L.L. Bean, Sephora and Barnes & Noble, according to a LinkedIn post from MSC principal Douglas Green congratulating Hightop CEO David Landskroner.
“David’s aggressive and entrepreneurial spirit, along with, I think, my urging of the upside retail potential, led him to take significant zoning risk — when other more institutional groups would not — and quickly close on this piece,” Green wrote.
No new shopping centers have been built in the submarket for nearly two decades, according to MSC. High construction costs have prevented new retail space from coming online in the Philly suburbs post-pandemic despite low vacancy and high demand.
SALES
Post Road Management has purchased most of the historic mixed-use building at 1 E. Broad St. in Bethlehem from A10 Capital for $6.1M. The 72,600 SF the buyer acquired covers four of the office and retail building’s five commercial condominiums.
The sale was coordinated by a Marcus & Millichap team including Brian Higgins, David Shoemaker, Jack Hamilton, Andrew Fannin and Ari Nordlinger.
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Investcorp spent $225M on a 1.2M SF industrial portfolio that includes 20 buildings spanning 960K SF in Philadelphia, the global investor announced Monday. A spokesperson for the firm declined to reveal any of the specific properties.
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California-based American Healthcare REIT has purchased the 168-unit Residence at Bala Cynwyd senior living community from Massachusetts-based LCB Senior Living for $42.6M, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The development, completed in 2023 at 251 Rock Hill Road, was part of a larger eight-property transaction spanning 867 units.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
MM Partners has begun its conversion of a former Logan Square office building at 2100 Arch St. into 116 apartments, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The developer bought the building for $12M in 2023 and expects to complete the project late next year or in early 2028.
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Crow Holdings has completed a 103,500 SF industrial building at 2748 Grant Ave. in Northeast Philadelphia. Leasing at the warehouse, with 32 loading docks and 32-foot clear heights, is being led by a JLL team including Kyle Lockard, Jeff Lockard, Larry Maister and Mitch Russell.
FINANCING
Affordable housing firm People Restoring Communities has received $18M in low-income housing tax credit equity and a $35.6M construction loan to redevelop the 150-unit Paulsboro Gardens Apartments at 70 Baird Ave. The equity was syndicated by BWE, while Citizens Bank arranged the loan.
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Boyd Wilson has secured a $19.1M loan to refinance the Dover Run Apartments at 2670 Springhouse Bend outside of York. The Freddie Mac financing, structured on a five-year term with a 35-year amortization schedule, was arranged by a Northmarq team including John Banas, Kris Wood, David Singer and Jeff Steigerwalt.
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Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker marked her 1,000th day in office earlier this week by celebrating 530 repair and renovation loans the city has provided to small landlords totaling $15.7M. The loans, ranging from $10K to $100K, have been used for fire protection, new flooring, bathroom upgrades and more.
THIS AND THAT
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach will open an office for 15 agents at 1500 Greenhill Road in West Chester this fall. The collaboration with the Deb Dorsey Team will be located inside the Hershey’s Mill Villages & Golf Club 55-plus community.
PEOPLE
Two of Cresa’s greater Philadelphia industrial experts have departed for Savills. Eric Zahniser, who focuses on logistics-centric businesses, has joined as an executive managing director, while outdoor storage specialist Jared Forman was tapped as an associate director.
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Michelle Flowers has been tapped as MRA Group’s new vice president of project management and development. She has 27 years of commercial real estate experience, most recently as JLL’s senior vice president of operations for the Philadelphia market.
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Jennifer Ellis has been appointed Conshohocken-based Morgan Properties’ new head of investor relations. She previously worked at EQT Real Estate and CenterSquare Investment Management.
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