News
Philly Has Signs of Life
October 3, 2012
| The patient has stabilized, and is showing positive indicators for further recovery. That was one of the optimistic takeaways fromBisnow’s recent Philadelphia State of the Market. |
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| Provided certain major issues are resolved or at least muddled through, such as the fiscal cliff, the outlook is reasonably good for ’13, notes the first panel, which includes Brixmor Property Group’s David Vender, Goldenberg Group’s Adam Rosenzweig, Liberty Property Trust’s John Gattuso, Brandywine Realty Trust’s Steve Rush, and sponsor/moderator Louis Colagreco Jr. of Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco. Also noted: institutional lenders (banks) are returning cautiously, and there’s plenty of private equity available for the right projects. David said that Brixmor is seeing its highest occupancy level since June '09, after four quarters of improvement. |
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| Beryl Simonson of McGladrey, a sponsor, moderated the next panel. In the office market, traditional space is being replaced by less structured spaces with more flexibility in interior layouts. Office is also evolving to be closer to social centers and transit, reflecting more mobility in the workplace and less reliance on 9-5 typical suburban office parks. (After a hard day at the office, people need to go directly to karaoke; it's a health issue.) As for multifamily, the sector remains strong, but will moderate, since mortgage rates are keeping the cost of home ownership down. |
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| Besides Beryl, the panel included Federal Realty Investment Trust’s John Hendrickson, PREIT’s Joe Aristone (also a sponsor), Keystone Property Group’s Bill Glazer, and Trammell Crow’s Jeff Goggins. Bill posited that Bala Cynwyd is the next frontier for development and redevelopment, a result of recently approved new zoning regulations that allow for increased FAR density and height restrictions of up to 200 ft along the City Avenue corridor. |
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| We also snapped Urban Igloo crew at their booth. Founded in DC and expanded to Philly in 2012, sponsor Urban Igloo describes itself as Match.com for landlords and renters—only powered by people who actually know something about the apartment market. |
