Vanguard Vacating Big Office Space In Philly Suburbs
One of the Main Line’s most well-known tenants is moving out of an 88K SF space where its lease is expiring at the end of the month.
Vanguard is exiting FLD Group’s 45 Liberty Blvd. in Malvern. The financial services firm occupies 64% of the building, constructed in 1999 and renovated in 2020.
Its plan to vacate was revealed in a report from CMBS monitoring platform Morningstar and confirmed by a Vanguard spokesperson.
“Vanguard continuously evaluates the effective use of workspace in our leased and owned properties,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Bisnow. “As part of this effort, we are exiting our leased space at 45 Liberty Blvd to optimize our existing footprint.”
FLD didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment. It bought the property from Equus Capital Partners for $36.3M in December 2021, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
The transaction included a $24.5M fixed-rate loan originated by Citigroup, according to Morningstar. The loan is scheduled to mature in January 2032.
The landlord is negotiating with a prospective tenant to potentially backfill 65K SF in the building, according to commentary in Morningstar's database from servicer Midland Loan Services.
FLD is also reportedly seeking an early lease renewal from Microsoft, the building’s second-largest tenant, which is set to occupy 42.6K SF through February 2028.
Vanguard has a heavy presence in the Malvern submarket. It occupies 300K SF at 1400 Atwater Drive, which is connected to the global headquarters at 100 Vanguard Blvd. via a pedestrian path, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The company also rents 225K SF at 1300 Brennan Blvd. in nearby Frazer and a 16K SF space at 2300 Chestnut St. in Center City.
The Main Line and Upper Main Line office submarkets had the lowest total vacancy rates in the region last quarter with 11.9% and 13.8%, respectively, according to CBRE. The brokerage also found that the Main Line’s average asking rent of $43.90 per SF was the highest in all of greater Philadelphia.
