New York investment firm buys Northeast Philadelphia retail center for $78M

Blackstone, a New York investment firm, has paid $78 million for Northeast Tower Center, a 301,208-square-foot retail property in Philadelphia, according to those familiar with the transaction.

Paramount Realty Services Inc. of Lakewood, New Jersey, sold the center at 4640 Roosevelt Blvd. It is anchored by a 119,388-square-foot Walmart and counts Staples, Ross Dress for Less, and Old Navy among its other tenants.

The entire center totals around 500,000 square feet but the transaction did not include a Home Depot, Pep Boys and Raymour & Flannigan, which are all tenants but separately own their respective spaces.

Northeast Tower was developed in 1996 by what is now PREIT, which sold it to Paramount in a transaction that was finalized in 2012 when the remaining unsold interest in the real estate was transferred, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

The property is at the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Whitaker Avenue and saw more than 6 million visits over the past year, according to Institutional Property Advisors data.

Paramount owns other properties in the region. The company, in partnership with Medipower Public Co. Ltd, a Cyprus-based real estate company, closed last month on a $114.25 million acquisition of five Greater Philadelphia shopping centers. It bought the properties from Brandoloni Cos. and added to its portfolio of other retail centers it owns such as Home Depot Plaza in Bensalem and Upland Square in Pottstown.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Bakery chain Paris Baguette looks to expand in Philadelphia as part of ambitious growth strategy

French-inspired bakery chain Paris Baguette is planning substantial expansion throughout the U.S. and Canada, and Philadelphia is on its shortlist of target markets.

The Moonachie, New Jersey-based company is looking to open 30 new locations in 20 key markets by the end of the year. It will then look to establish 1,000 new locations in the coming 10 years.

Philly is among the prime locales where Paris Baguette is seeking space, though concrete details on a site rollout are still unknown. AmecAngelo is serving as the master broker overseeing the bakery chain’s growth plan, which Paris Baguette has dubbed its exclusive leasing agent for the expansion plans.

Paris Baguette, which specializes in cakes, pastries, sandwiches, salads, coffee and tea, operates nearly 90 stores across the U.S. Its footprint includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Texas, Arizona and California.

The chain currently has five locations in Philadelphia, per the company’s website, at 600 Washington Ave., 923 Arch St., 1717 Chestnut St., 6201 N. Front St., and in the food court at the Hamilton Court apartments at 3816 Chestnut St.

Additionally, there is a Montgomery County store at 7300 Old York Road. in Elkins Park.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Barstool Sports-branded bar to open in Philadelphia

A Barstool Sports-branded sports bar is coming to Philadelphia.

Penn National Gaming, which bought a 36% stakein the digital media company last year for $163 million, is building the bar out as a standalone location, CEO Jay Snowden said in the company’s second quarter earnings report this week. The bar is slated to open later this year.

When asked where the forthcoming Philly bar will be located, a Penn National spokesman declined to provide further details.

The Philadelphia location will be one of the initial Barstool-branded sports bars from Wyomissing casino operator Penn National (NASDAQ: PENN). A Chicago location is also in the works and set to debut this year, per Penn National’s earnings report.

Penn National is also working to either open or rebrand five more Barstool Sports retail sportsbooks by the end of 2021, per its earnings report. The company is continuing to bolster its casino offerings by debuting more third-party content, introducing a Barstool-branded live dealer studio in New Jersey, and launching its first in-house developed Barstool-branded online table and slot games by year’s end.

In the second quarter, Penn National generated $1.55 billion in revenue, an increase of $1.24 billion year-over-over and $223 million more versus 2019.

As revenue rebounds from the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, Penn National Gaming is diversifying its assets.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Amazon opens first Pennsylvania grocery store in Bucks County

Amazon Fresh Montgomery County Now Open

The first Amazon Fresh store in Pennsylvania has opened at the Creekview Center in Warrington as others are in the works for the region.

The Bucks County store at 389 Easton Road totals 35,000 square feet and nearly backfills a 49,000-square-foot space vacated by Giant. Amazon.com Inc. declined to specify how many full and part-time employees are working at the store other than to say it is “creating hundreds” of jobs.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is expanding its grocery footprint with Amazon Fresh, which is considered a low price alternative to the company’s Whole Foods Market. The Warrington location is its 17th Amazon Fresh store in the country and the company is planning to add several more throughout the Philadelphia area.

It is planning to open another store in Bucks County in 41,000 square feet of a former Kmart at the Brookwood Shopping Center on Street Road in Bensalem as well as in about 40,000 square feet at a mixed-use project at 5th and Spring Garden streetsin Philadelphia.

The company also intends to open a store at 2940 Springfield Road in Broomall, where it has also secured a liquor license to sell wine and beer, according to Marple documents. The company is also reportedly seeking to open a store in a former LA Fitness at 403 West Chester Pike in Havertown.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Citizens shuttering 15 more branches, including three in Greater Philadelphia

In a July 29 filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens (NYSE: CFG) said it plans to shutter the following locations:

  • 2001 Market St., Philadelphia
  • 1313 Franklin Mills Circle, Philadelphia
  • 131 Second St., Lewes, Delaware

In addition, the filings said the bank plans to close five sites in western Pennsylvania, three in Ohio and two each in Michigan and New York.

These closings come less than a week after July 23 filings in which Citizens said it planned to close 10 branches, including locations in Horsham, Northeast Philadelphia and Havertown.

As of the June 30, 2020 annual FDIC deposit data, Citizens (NYSE: CFG) had 168 Philadelphia-area branches and a little more than $19 billion in deposits — good enough for fourth-most in the region behind Wells Fargo, TD Bank and PNC Bank.

Like its peers, the pandemic has accelerated customer usage of online and mobile platforms, causing the bank to increase the pace of branch closures. Citizens has closed 61 branches across its footprint so far this year, already significantly more than the 48 it closed in all of 2020. And it has now filed to close 69 branches, exceeding the 53 filings for the entirety of 2020.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

After foreclosure, Montgomery Mall put up for sale

The Montgomery Mall, foreclosed upon and in receivership, has been put up for sale.

The mall could sell for an estimated $50 million, according to various sources, which is a fraction of the $118 million judgment lodged against the property as a result of a loan default. The estimate is a reflection of an August 2020 appraisal of the mall that had it valued at $61 million, or $55 a square foot. In 2014, the mall had been appraised at $195 million, or $176 a square foot, according to Cred-IQ.

The 1.1-million-square-foot center on nearly 105 acres at routes 202 and 309 in North Wales serves as an example of the struggles malls were undergoing before the pandemic that, in many cases, have been exacerbated by the effects of Covid-19.

The regional mall has experienced some vacancies as retailers close or file for bankruptcy protection. As with many retail centers, it has also faced competition from the rise of online shopping, which intensified during the pandemic.

Montgomery Mall has a vacant Sears, which totals 169,000 square feet, and is also anchored by two other challenged retailers — Macy’s, which occupies 218,000 square feet, and JCPenney with 166,375 square feet. Neither Macy’s nor JCPenney, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last May, have announced the closure of these locations.

Companies that operate as some of the mall’s smaller anchors, such as H&M, which occupies 20,085 square feet, are also facing headwinds. H&M has said it plans to close 350 stores this year and open 100 new ones. The company hasn’t divulged which locations it intends to shutter.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Santander plans to close 15 more Pennsylvania bank branches this year

Santander Bank said it plans to close 15 more Pennsylvania branches by the end of 2021. If those sites are all located in southeastern Pennsylvania, it could equate to shaving off as much as a quarter of its remaining locations in the Philadelphia region.

“Like many industries, our customers’ preferences and behaviors are shifting,” Santander said in a statement provided to the Philadelphia Business Journal. “We are listening and responding by adjusting our business model and delivery to better serve our customers, which includes consolidating branches while also opening new ones; increasing our investment in digital, service center and ATM capabilities; and testing new products and services.”

While Santander said it plans to announce 15 more Pennsylvania branch closures in 2021, it also has five large capital projects, including opening a new branch, and more than 23 branch renovations planned for the next 18 months.

Santander, which remains the seventh-largest deposit taker in the region, already closed two area branches earlier this year in North Philadelphia and Dresher and has filed to shutter eight more this month in Yardley, Wyndmoor, Lafayette Hill, Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Northeast Philadelphia, Burlington and Pennsauken.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Citizens Bank closing 3 more Philadelphia-area branches

Citizens Bank has filed to close three more branches in the Philadelphia region as it continues to optimize its retail footprint and terminate relationships with local supermarkets.

In a July 23 filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Citizens said it will close the following locations:

    • 314 Horsham Road in Horsham, inside a Giant supermarket
    • 3200-92 Red Lion Road in Philadelphia, inside an Acme supermarket
    • 160 W. Eagle Road in Havertown

As of the June 30, 2020 annual FDIC deposit data, Citizens (NYSE: CFG) had 168 Philadelphia-area branches and a little more than $19 billion in deposits — good enough for fourth-most in the region behind Wells Fargo, TD Bank and PNC Bank.

Like its peers, the pandemic has accelerated customer usage of online and mobile platforms, causing the bank to increase the pace of branch closures. Citizens has closed 61 branches across its footprint so far this year, already significantly more than the 48 it closed in all of 2020. Locally, those included sites in Southampton, Aldan, Aston, Frankford, Jenkintown and North Philadelphia. Its applications to shutter sites in Torresdale and Southampton have also been approved.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Montgomery Mall Foreclosed Upon, $118M Judgment Issued

A bank has foreclosed on Montgomery Mall and a $118.78 million judgment has been rendered against the property’s owner, an entity affiliated with Simon Property Group, according to court documents.

Wilmington Trust, as trustee for Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage, filed in early June in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas to start foreclosure proceedings and place the 1.1-million-square-foot mall at the crossroads of Routes 202 and 309 in North Wales in receivership.

By June 22, a receiver had been appointed and, by July 12, a judge approved a judgment in mortgage foreclosure against Mall at Montgomery LP, the Simon affiliate. It was also requested that the property be sold to satisfy the loan.

It’s not unusual for owners to sometimes relinquish properties that they have determined no longer fit within their core portfolio, and it was practiced with some frequency during the Great Recession. Whether the Montgomery Mall fit into that category for Simon (NYSE: SPG) couldn’t be determined, though signs point to that. A company spokesperson couldn’t be reached for comment.

The judgment and foreclosure of the Montgomery Mall were foreshadowed last year when Simon notified the special servicer overseeing a $100 million loan on the Montgomery Mall that it was “unwilling to inject additional funds into [the] loan, but is willing to manage [the] property,” and that the loan was facing imminent default, according to a report by Cred-IQ, which tracks commercial mortgage-backed securities.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Santander to close 3 more Philadelphia-area bank branches

Santander Bank has filed to close three more Philadelphia-area branches as part of a broader focus on trimming its retail footprint.

The Boston-based bank, a subsidiary of Spain’s Santander Group (NYSE: SAN), filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to shutter the following three sites on July 7:

    • 95 S. Main St. in Yardley
    • 322 High St. in Burlington, New Jersey
    • 5714 Westfield Ave. in Pennsauken, New Jersey

This comes after Santander closed locations at 5601 N. Broad St. in North Philadelphia and 1650 Limekiln Pike in Dresher. The latest planned closings will leave the bank with 67 Philadelphia-area branches — 61 in southeastern Pennsylvania, five in South Jersey and one in Delaware. It remains the seventh-largest deposit taker in the region.

*Article courtesy of Philadephia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia retail space for sale or lease in Philadelphia or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.

Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage, and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors, and sellers.

Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia commercial properties for lease or sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.