This Week's Philadelphia Deal Sheet
Ensemble/Mosaic has secured the first tenant at its new developments in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
The joint venture of Mosaic Development Partners and Ensemble Real Estate Investments signed bioMérieux to a 32K SF lease at 1201 Normandy Place, the 137K SF lab building it began on spec a year ago. Though 1201 Normandy is set to open in June, bioMérieux subsidiary Invisible Sentinel is expected to move into its space in early 2024.
Invisible Sentinel, a Philly-based startup that makes DNA tests for detecting impurities in food, beer, wine and cannabis production, was acquired by the France-based bioMérieux in 2019. The space at the Navy Yard is nearly triple the size of Invisible Sentinel's current location at 3711 Market St., within the uCity Square complex in University City.
The lease was brokered by CBRE's life sciences team, and leaves 105K SF available at 1201 Normandy. Ensemble/Mosaic, with equity partner Oxford Properties Group, is awaiting an anchor tenant before launching its next Navy Yard building, a biomanufacturing facility. Plans for a multifamily component at the South Philadelphia site are on hold until the financing climate improves.
SALES
IG Logistics sold an industrial outdoor storage property at 2470 and 2500 Wheatsheaf Lane in Northeast Philadelphia to an undisclosed buyer for $13.2M. Newmark Associate Director Ryan Guittare brokered the transaction.
Within the 6.73-acre parcel, located just off Interstate 95 at the base of the Betsy Ross Bridge, are a 17K SF truck terminal and a 15K SF repair shop. The property is 100% leased to two tenants: logistics firm GSR Global and heavy machinery company H&E Equipment Services.
Atkins Cos. purchased a two-story, 70K SF medical office building at 405 Hurffville Cross Keys Road in Gloucester County's Washington Township for about $14M. The fully occupied building sits just across the street from Jefferson Hospital Washington Township, the largest of Jefferson Health's three hospitals in South Jersey.
Avison Young represented both Atkins Cos. and the seller, Gordon MAB Associates.
***
A joint venture of NewcrestImage and Hospitality Capital Partners acquired a 16-property hotel portfolio for $137M from Services Properties Trust. Two Philadelphia-area hotels were included in the deal, which consisted exclusively of properties operated by Marriott brands. CBRE's Capital Markets Institutional Group brokered the sale.
The two Philly-area hotels that traded hands were both in the Montgomery County suburb of Willow Grove: a 149-room Courtyard by Marriott at 2350 Easton Road and a 119-room Residence Inn at 3 Walnut Grove Drive.
The deal was put under contract as far back as September and initially expected to close before the end of last year, but rising interest rates forced the parties to split it into three transactions, each with a different lender, in order to finally close this month.
