This Week's Philadelphia Deal Sheet
A massive distribution center in the red-hot Northeast Philadelphia market has been acquired by the family office of a European billionaire.
Ponte Gadea Compass, the investment firm funded by the riches of Amancio Ortega, has purchased the 1M SF distribution center at 2670 Red Lion Road leased to TJX Cos. and occupied by its Marshalls retail brand for $148M. Ortega, founder of international fashion retailer Inditex, is ranked by Bloomberg as the 25th-richest person on Earth with a net worth of over $44B.
The property was sold by an affiliate of Realty Income, which acquired it as part of its takeover of VeREIT late last year; VeREIT had purchased the Red Lion road building for $97M in 2019. The building was one of six VeREIT-owned industrial properties that Realty Income sold in the second quarter for a total of $905M, according to its quarterly earnings report.
CONSTRUCTION
Gaudenzia Inc., a nonprofit developer based in the Philly suburb of Norristown, broke ground last week on an affordable housing property at 910 North 51st St. in West Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. The 30-unit, 38K SF apartment building has been partially funded by the Philadelphia Housing Finance Authority and will contain a classroom and community kitchen on the first floor.
***
Southern Land Co. has set a November delivery date for the rental portion of its Rittenhouse Square multifamily development The Laurel, the tallest residential building in Philadelphia to date. The 184 rental units will have an entrance at 1909 Walnut St., separate from the for-sale condominiums that occupy the upper portion of the 48-story tower. Also set to open in the coming months are three floors of retail totaling 44K SF, including the first Philadelphia location of high-end fitness chain Equinox.
LEASING
Barnes and Noble has signed a lease for a 19K SF retail space at 1708 Chestnut St., where it will relocate from a 24K SF location at 1805 Walnut St., the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The bookseller will backfill a space that has been vacant since Forever 21 departed in 2019, a sign of leasing momentum shifting from Walnut Street to Chestnut Street for Philly's high street retail market.
***
Tapster, a bar concept with self-serve beer, has signed a lease for a 3,600 SF restaurant space at 110-16 South 16th St. in a transaction brokered by the New York office of Lee & Associates as tenant representative. The owner of the space, a joint venture of Panco CC Rittenhouse Row Exchange and Rittenhouse Row Investors, was represented by Colliers. Tapster will replace local fast-casual chain Honeygrow with its fifth location when it opens in early 2023, adding to two spots in Chicago and one each in Seattle and Cleveland.
FINANCING
DH Property Holdings has refinanced the 283K SF distribution center it developed at 9800 Blue Grass Road in Northeast Philadelphia with a new $76.8M loan from Invesco Real Estate and Webster Bank. The project is a build-to-suit for TJX Cos., steps away from the Marshalls property on Red Lion Road that just traded hands, and the financing was arranged by Walker & Dunlop.
