New Philadelphia Family Court Building Celebrates Milestone; Old Building Becomes Hotel

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Philadelphia city officials and representatives of the Tishman Construction Corporation gathered last week to attend a topping-off ceremony for the new Family Court building that is under development at the northwest corner of 15^th and Arch streets. Construction for the $160 million courthouse building started in early 2012 under plans designed by EwingCole, a locally based architecture firm that provides services for various project types including academic, corporate, government, healthcare, science, technology, arts and sports.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the 14-story structure—which is replacing an old parking lot in Center City—is expected to open in spring 2014. At 510,000 square feet, the new facility will be housed under the same roof as the Family Court’s operations, which are currently operating in several facilities near 11^th and Market Streets and in an old building located at 18^th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Designed to pursue LEED Silver certification, the new courthouse building will encompass 29 court rooms, judges’ chambers and administrative space. It will also have a three-level underground parking garage with 285 spaces owned and operated by the city’s Parking Authority.

As for the old Family Court building at 18^th and Parkway Streets, the city is planning to redevelop the site into a small-sized hotel with 200 to 300 guest rooms that would increase pedestrian traffic along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

In an interview for CBS Philly, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Director of Commerce Alan Greenberger said that five developers have been chosen as finalists for the redevelopment project. The developer is expected to be named by fall 2013, with a tentative ground breaking date set for spring 2014 when the building is vacated.

Rendering of the new Philadelphia Family Court via EwingCole

Realen Properties to Continue with Phase II of Edgewater Apartments

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Construction is heating up in Center City Philadelphia as real estate developer Realen Properties of Berwyn, PA, and its finance partner Northwest Mutual Life prepare to break ground on Phase II of Edgewater Apartments, an upscale multifamily community that was partially completed in 2006 before the economic downturn.

According to the developer’s website, Edgewater I is a fully occupied 13-story building at 23^rd and Race Street that includes a combination of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units totaling 290 apartments and  675 parking spaces, 75 of which are located in an underground parking garage. Construction at the 562,000-square-foot, $80 million tower started in 2003 under plans designed by locally based BLT Architects.

Edgewater II will replace an existing surface parking lot at the Southwest corner of 23rd and Summer Streets behind Edgewater I, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports, and  it will add 240 rental units to the Logan Square neighborhood’s housing inventory.

Before breaking ground on the proposed 22-story tower, the development team must go through a rezoning process with the Philadelphia Planning Commission that could be finished by summer. Dennis Maloomian, president of Realen Properties, has already discussed the development plan with representatives of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association during a meeting held on April 16.

Rendering courtesy of Realen Properties

Ardmore Township OKs Dranoff Properties’ $56 Million Luxury Project

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The first phase of a challenging revitalization effort in Ardmore is now closer to fruition as the developer, Dranoff Properties, unveiled the project’s official name: One Ardmore Place.

Originally unveiled in 2008 as the Cricket Lot or the Ardmore Station, the project was downsized from a $180 million, three-phase investment with 335 apartment units and 120,000 square feet of office and retail space. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Dranoff Properties was forced to resize the original project because the company failed to secure the federal and SEPTA financial help which included a $25-million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Reportedly, the $15.5 million received from the state will be reinvested in the revised project while the developer is investing $44 million.

Conveniently located near the Ardmore train station, the $56 million One Ardmore Place will transform the township-owned Cricket Avenue parking lot into 121 high-end rental units with state-of-the-art amenities and a 24/7 concierge, 10,500 square feet of street-level retail space, as well as a public/private ample parking component with either one, two or three decks with more than 200 parking spaces.

As Main Line Media News previously reported, the project is estimated to create 900 construction jobs and 80 permanent retail jobs and generate around $40 million in annual revenue once construction is completed.

Rendering of One Ardmore Place courtesy of Danoff Properties

Fishtown Neighbors Association Approves Wynn Resorts’ $925M Casino Proposal

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Fishtown Neighbors Association on April 8 voted in favor of a casino / resort development project that was pitched by representatives of Wynn Resorts Ltd., one of the six casino operators and developers that applied for a gaming license in Philadelphia. The Paradise, NV-based developer wants to put a 60-acre underutilized Delaware riverfront property to a much better and lucrative use: a resort and casino three times larger than Penn’s Landing.

According to PlanPhilly.com, the Wynn Resorts’ proposal includes: a 300-room hotel with an average 900 square feet per room, a 22-acre green park and River Walk, a parking garage with 2,800 spaces and a green roof, several restaurants, a 10,000-square-foot nightclub and a 20,000-square-foot entertainment facility including a high-end spa and a potential ice skating rink. The proposal calls for a separate gaming component that will include a 150,000-square-foot casino with 2,500 slot machines and 100 table games.

If the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board grants Wynn Resorts’ a gaming license in the city, the $925 million resort and casino tentatively called Wynn Philadelphia will be the largest private project ever constructed in the state. The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog notes that the venture will take two to three years to complete and will create 3,600 construction jobs. Another 3,300 permanent and supplier jobs will be generated once the complex is open.

Rendering of Wynn Philadelphia via PlanPhilly.com

Developer Plans Mixed-Use Complex on Vacant Brownfield in South Kensington

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A 2.5-acre vacant site in Philadelphia’s South Kensington that once housed the Absco Inc. steel plant could be redeveloped into an energy efficient mixed-use community. The development proposal comes from Canus Corporation, a local company that has already invested over $8 million in cleaning and decontaminating the site located at 2^nd and Thompson Streets.

According to PlanPhilly.com, the developer started working on a redevelopment plan for this site in 2007 but the project had to be put on hold because of the recession. Reportedly, the original plan called Viridian included 160 condos and 16 artist studios. Now Canus is proposing a revised plan with a denser complex designed by BartonPartners that would also feature retail spaces, ground level parking and green areas and plazas accessible to the public.

The proposed 320-unit complex would break down to 2 percent live-work units, 12 percent studios of roughly 450 square feet each, 63 percent one-bedroom units and 23 percent two-bedroom units. According to PlanPhilly.com, the zoning committee suggested an increase in square footage per unit, which would lead to fewer residential units but would address the neighborhood’s main concern—that the area not become overpopulated.

If approved by the South Kensington Community Partners planning and zoning committee, Phase I of the Soko Lofts project could start in late fall with an estimated completion time of 12 months. During Phase I Canus will break ground on a four-story, L-shaped building along 2^nd Street and a similar building at the corner of 2^nd and Thompson Streets. A third building of up to seven stories will follow on American Street during Phase II. This structure will include a large lobby, street level commercial space and 50 covered parking spaces.

Rendering of Soko Lofts courtesy of PlanPhilly.com

Camden City to Get First Supermarket in 30 Years

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A joint venture between the Ravitz Family, which owns Supermarkets of Cherry Hill, Inc., and the Goldenberg Group, headquartered in Blue Bell, PA, is set to develop the first full-service supermarket in Camden in more than three decades. The newly announced investment—which will also feature the first-ever ShopRite in the area, as well as several restaurants and smaller retail businesses—will occupy a city-owned, 20-acre vacant site at the corner of South 17^th Street and Admiral Wilson Boulevard.

Scheduled to open in 2015, the 150,000-square-foot Admiral Wilson Plaza will be managed by Jason, Shawn and Brett Ravitz, the fourth generation of the Ravitz family which has been operating five other ShopRite stores in the New Jersey area for over 40 years.

“My brothers and I are proud to be bringing a ShopRite store to Camden. We recognize that there is a great need for a full-service supermarket in the city and have been trying for years to find the best location to serve the community,” said Jason Ravitz, vice president, retail operations for Supermarkets of Cherry Hill, Inc.

The $40 million Admiral Wilson Plaza is expected to create around 400 construction jobs and 320 part-time and permanent jobs. Though the project is still in the early stages of land acquisition and permitting, the developers are confident that the new supermarket will offset the lack of shopping venues in the area and improve the quality of life for residents.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Camden City has only a few mid-sized grocery stores serving a population of 77,000 people.

$16 M Carrier Hotel Announced in Wilmington; Investment Group Buys $36 M Industrial Portfolio along I-95 Corridor

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Private cloud and infrastructure service solution provider IPR International of Wayne, PA, has announced plans to transform its data center in Wilmington, DE, into a $16 million carrier hotel. This huge connectivity hub will be able to bring together a large number of networks and providers and will be dedicated to offering a highly efficient and competitive bandwidth interconnection point to Wilmington’s business district.

McConnell Johnson Real Estate is the owner of the 16-story building located at 1201 N. Market Street, along with dark fiber providers Sunesys, LLC of Warrington and Fibertech Networks based in Rochester, N.Y.

According to an interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal, the company’s financial effort will be backed by a grant of $3.8 million for Delaware’s New Jobs Infrastructure Fund.

With the new Wilmington Carrier Hotel Project the investors hope to create innovative business opportunities that can trigger economic growth in the area and throughout the state of Delaware.

In further regional news, TA Real Estate of Boston sold an industrial portfolio along the I-95 Corridor for $36 million to Hayden Real Estate Investment and Miller Investment Management. As reported by the same source, the 1 million square foot portfolio consists of four office buildings and an 18-acre parcel of land already zoned for industrial development in the I-95 Campus Industrial Park in Aston.

West Chester University of Pennsylvania Adds New Student Housing Facility

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

EdR, one of the largest owners, developers and managers of collegiate housing in the U.S., recently announced construction of a new student housing development on South New Street on the campus of the West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU).

The $57.5 million investment will be the company’s 19^th collegiate development within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and, according to Student Housing Planet, it will replace the former Sanderson Hall, which was demolished two years ago.

With a completion date set for the summer of 2014, Commonwealth Hall will offer a range of single units to shared-living suites for up to six residents totaling 653 beds. Other amenities featured in the eight-story development project include a fitness center, study lounges and a full residence life program, while the building’s ground floor will be occupied by WCU’s Student Health Services, Counseling Center and Emergency Medical Services.

Jointly designed by Voith & Mactavish Architects of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh-based WTW Architects and built by lead contractor P. Agnes Construction, Commonwealth Hall is part of WCU’s Housing Renewal Initiative that kicked off in 2001 to renovate student housing in all five residences on the university’s campus. The new building’s design will be similar to Allegheny and Brandywine Halls, two residential facilities on the WCU campus that were designed by Voith & Mactavish Architects.

Commonwealth Hall is expected to balance out the lack of student housing inventory WCU is experiencing as more than 20,000 prospective students apply each year at the university.

Renovated Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel Philadelphia to Operate Under Radisson Blu Signature

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, a leading hospitality group based in Minneapolis, Minn., and Brussels, Belgium that operates more than 1,300 hotels globally, announced a $17 million renovation that will rebrand the historic Radisson Plaza – Warwick Hotel into a Radisson Blu signature hotel.

Located in Philadelphia’s classy Rittenhouse Square district, the 87-year-old facility will remain open throughout the conversion. By the end of summer 2013 the new Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel Philadelphia will offer upgraded guestrooms and corridors, and a redesigned grand lobby that will reflect Radisson Blu’s style.

The 301-room hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it has been recognized by the Green Key Eco-Rating Program with a 4 Green Key rating and was awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on its outstanding reviews from travelers. The hotel includes four suites, a 2,000-square-foot fitness center, 17,000 square feet of event space and three dining venues.

“The expansion of the Radisson Blu brand to Philadelphia, an international business and cultural center, is a key step in our Ambition 2015 strategy,” said Thorsten Kirschke, president, Radisson, Americas, in a press statement.

Ambition 2015 is a $1.5 billion program that aims to grow the company’s hotel portfolio by at least 50 percent to reach at least 1,500 hotels in operation and under development by 2015. The investment program also focuses on positioning Radisson and Radisson Blu in North America as powerful, globally consistent, first class brands. Operated by the Carlson Hotel Group, Radisson Blu is an upscale hotel brand with 272 flagship properties and 86 under development around the world.

Image of Radisson Plaza – Warwick Hotel Philadelphia via www.radisson.com

Criticized Kingsley Court Development to Kick Off in Roxborough

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

A 3.5-acre vacant property at 5627 Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood will be replaced by a community of 32 twin homes, according to a post on NakedPhilly. While the project proposed by local developer Stephen Goldner has stirred much debate among neighbors who were concerned that the development would be too dense for a suburb, the former Ivy Ridge Assisted Living site has won approval from the City’s Planning Commission.

An older report from Patch.com reveals that other developers have also come up with redevelopment projects for the site of the closed assisted living center, but Stephen Goldner’s project, called Kingsley Court, turned out to be the most documented and interesting.

Reportedly, the property still belongs to Rosalind Lavin—a Villanova socialite who owes the state $700,000 in federal fines—but Goldner has secured a deal to purchase the site. Each of the 32 twin homes will have four bedrooms and 3.5 baths and will be available for sale for around $320,000.

Kingsley Court’s success as a residential development is still uncertain, but the asking sales price is surely above average. According to a Trulia market report quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the average sales price in Roxborough from November 2012 to January 30, 2013 was $246,174. That’s less than half of the asking sales price in Philadelphia’s most expensive neighborhood, Rittenhouse Square, where the average price for the same period was $580,738. The cheapest neighborhoods to invest in are Overbrook, with an average asking sales price of $134,521, followed by Northeast Philadelphia, with $158,267.

Image via Google Maps