Please enjoy this Memorial Weekend edition of Capstone Law’s Philadelphia Real Estate Trends:

• For you next vacation don’t forget to consider….. Upper Darby. That’s right, Ashkenazy Acquisition of New York City announced plans to build a 100-room hotel and retail complex on 69th Street in the building that once housed a Sears and the Turf Club. State Representative Margo Davidson sees the project as the key to Upper Darby’s 69th Street Revitalization Program. Accordingly, the developer will receive $7.5 million from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to make the project a reality. Don’t book your vacation in Delaware County just yet, however. Ashkenazy Acquisition has not finalized its deal with a hotel chain and failed to provide any sketches of the project, a timeline for completion, or details of potential retail tenants.

• National Real Estate Advisors of Washington, DC unveiled exciting plans for the first phase of its $500 million mixed use project between 11th and 12th Streets and Chestnut and Market Streets in Center City that I first mentioned in March. Phase I will include a 17-story building with 322 apartment units and two floors of retail (intended for clothing retailers) fronting this long neglected portion of Market Street.  NREA and its partners intend for “a lot of food and beverage” on the Ludlow Street portion of the project with restaurants and a grocery store such as a Trader Joes.  Construction should commence this summer.

• Spark Threapeutics, a late-stage company developing gene-based medicines, plans to open its new permanent headquarters in a 28,000 square foot building at 3737 Market Street in University City. Spark intends to open the new facility with 50 full-time employees by the end of this year. Its headquarters will house Spark’s business operations, clinical research, development, and manufacturing. Spark recently spun out of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and exemplifies the ability of Philadelphia’s “meds and eds” to fuel high-paying job growth in Philadelphia.

As always, please check-out Capstone’s website and the “Llenrock Local”, for the latest news from Philadelphia’s busy commercial real estate sector.  

Until next time, have a great week!