Center City's Largest Office Space Slated For Resi Conversion: The Philadelphia Deal Sheet
The new owner of a hulking office property overlooking Philadelphia City Hall is plotting a partial residential and hotel conversion.
Centre Square at 1500 Market St. has been the largest office space in the city since it was completed in 1974, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Occupancy stood at just 37.6% before PMC Property Group and Dean Adler agreed to buy the building for roughly $94M last month. The purchase price is less than one-third of the $328M that seller Nightingale Properties bought it for in 2017.
The new owners plan to build between 250 and 500 apartments and 300 hotel rooms. They also intend to keep 500K SF of the existing office space.
SALES
The Canadian firm Castlepoint Numa sold two retail properties near the corner of 17th and Market streets in Rittenhouse Square.
Erie-based Sidharth River Real Estate LLC bought 211 S. 17th St. for $1.7M last month. The sale came after an affiliate of Pearl Properties spent $6.4M on 1636 Walnut St. in June 2025. The building is currently leased by JPMorgan Chase.
MSC's Jacob Cooper and Stan Brown represented Castlepoint in both deals.
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Wilmington-based 9th Street Development Co. plans to buy 180K SF of mixed-use space across two buildings in downtown Kennett Square next month. A sale price was not disclosed for the roughly 180K SF of office, medical, residential and retail space along State Street.
The developer is planning a residential conversion at 128 E. State St. and will make improvements to the lobby and amenity spaces at 101 E. State St.
JLL’s Blaise Fletcher and Jamie Vari have been tapped to lease the properties.
LEASES
Cunningham Piano Co. is selling its longtime Germantown headquarters and moving to a 15K SF space it is leasing at 450 S. Henderson Road in King of Prussia, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The 135-year-old company’s satellite showrooms in Cherry Hill and Delmar, Delaware, will remain open.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
A 146K SF office park at 435 Devon Park Drive in Wayne has been converted into the 162-unit Buttonwoods Apartments. The project was carried out by a partnership between E. Kahn Development, Love Communities and Triple Crown Construction.
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Reading Terminal Market is plotting $350K worth of renovations to prepare for this year’s 250th anniversary Fourth of July celebrations, Axios reported. The changes include new flooring, new American with Disabilities Act-compliant seating and layout tweaks to minimize pedestrian bottlenecks.
FINANCING
PCG Investments has secured a $22M construction loan to build the Fairman, an 86-unit apartment building at 1212 N. Delaware Ave. in Fishtown. North River Partners and Crestline Investors originated the funding.
