David Robinson Runs Fast Break Into Philadelphia Office Market With King Of Prussia Office Deal
David Robinson spent his entire NBA career as a San Antonio Spur, but his real estate business has led him to the Philadelphia area.
Admiral Capital Group, the real estate and private equity investment firm co-founded by Robinson, has acquired Valley Forge Park Place, a two-building office property in King of Prussia totaling 160K SF.
Admiral did not disclose the identity of the seller or the sale price, but property records indicate that Keystone Property Group has owned the buildings since 2006.
Both of the buildings in VFPP were built in 1978, and Keystone renovated them in 2007 immediately after the purchase. At the time of the announcement, the complex was 96% leased. Admiral has enlisted Newmark Knight Frank as leasing agent for the complex, a position it held for years before Keystone took over leasing in-house for its last few years of ownership.
Admiral purchased the building through its core-plus investment platform, called A2R, financing the deal with a combination of its own equity and a "first mortgage from an institutional bank," Admiral co-founder Daniel Bassichis told Bisnow.
The company owns buildings in the Dallas suburbs of Frisco and Plano, as well as San Diego and Phoenix.
VFPP is Admiral's first acquisition in the Northeast, but it is not the first business it has done in the area. Admiral is a founding investor in Fitler Club, the private social club and coworking space due to open in April in Aramark's new headquarters at 2400 Market St. in Center City. When Bisnow asked Basicchis why King of Prussia was its first deal in the region, he gave a familiar answer.
"King of Prussia has become a live-work-play environment with the King of Prussia Town Center [and] all the new multifamily and for-sale housing product in the immediate area," Bassichis said. "This retail and residential amenity base were what initially attracted us to the submarket."
