PHA Buys 200 Apartments For $49M: The Philadelphia Deal Sheet
The Philadelphia Housing Authority’s push to expand its portfolio has taken another step forward.
The agency bought 200 newly constructed North Philadelphia apartments at 1635 N. Fifth St. from Riverwards Group for $49.1M, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“When we bought the land in 2018, it was industrial and underutilized parcels,” Riverwards Managing Partner Mo Rushdy told the Inquirer.
He added that the company is selling the property, not because it was in distress amid a glut of new apartments in Philly but because the offer was a “great deal” that fits Riverwards’ financing for the project.
The transaction came after Riverwards sold 220 units at 2230 E. Somerset St. to PHA in May. That contributed to the $280.6M the agency had spent on 17 properties with 1,515 units over the course of 14 months as of late February.
SALES
A CVS-occupied, 13,300 SF property at 3100 Shillington Road outside Reading in Sinking Spring sold for $7.2M. Dan Cooper of Cooper Commercial Investment Group represented the buyer, a private investor. The seller was a Florida-based private investment firm.
Luke Lamoreaux of Marcus & Millichap arranged $3.3M of financing for the purchase. A spokesperson for Cooper declined to share the identity of the buyer or seller.
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California-based North Palisade Partners bought a two-property Northern Liberties self-storage portfolio for $39.3M, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The 2,298 units across nearly 200K SF are located at 40 Spring Garden St. and 510 N. Christopher Columbus Blvd.
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Shaw Real Estate LLC purchased a 100K SF warehouse at 701 Garasches Lane in Wilmington from Fibre Processing Corp. for $6.9M. A CBRE team including Dan Reeder, Dan Rattay and Colby Reeder represented the seller and will lease the property on behalf of Shaw.
LEASES
Florida-based Workspace Property Trust tapped Newmark to lease a 66-building, 4.2M SF office and flex space portfolio spanning several suburban Philadelphia submarkets including Wayne, Malvern, Exton and Horsham. It includes assets such as 2 W. Liberty Blvd. in Malvern and a series of buildings on Walnut Grove Drive in Horsham.
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Netzsch Grinding & Dispersing North America inked a 17,500 SF lease at 711 Haywood Drive in Hankin Group’s Haywood Business Park in Exton, according to a social media post from Newmark's Michael Spaeder. A Newmark team of Spaeder, James Belcher, Nick Pickard, Stephen Cook II and Zachary Ambielli represented the tenant.
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Nuclear technology firm TerraPower announced it is leasing a 250K SF build-to-suit facility in South Philadelphia’s Bellwether District from developer HRP Group. It will be used to manufacture cancer treatments utilizing the radioisotope actinium-225 starting in 2029.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
The 614-unit AVE Navy Yard complex in South Philadelphia is officially open. Korman Communities and Mosaic Development Partners built 75K SF of amenities and 25K SF of retail space across the two buildings at 1200 Normandy Place and 1225 Constitution Ave.
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Federal Realty has finished work on its 217-unit Blayr complex at 145 E. City Ave. in Bala Cynwyd. It is part of a broader mixed-use complex where the firm has invested $170M.
FINANCING
Greek Real Estate Partners has secured a $46M three-year, fixed-rate bridge loan for its 287K SF warehouse at 2121 Wheatsheaf Lane in North Philadelphia. JLL arranged the loan for the property, which delivered this quarter. A Greek spokesperson declined to reveal who originated the funding.
THIS AND THAT
Scully Co. has created a Match Day Concierge program for new medical students who need to quickly find housing in Philadelphia after they are accepted by the city’s schools. It is hosting an open house for those prospective tenants April 4.
