Most Philly workers are still remote as city works toward pandemic recovery

Center City Return to Work

More than two years into the pandemic, thousands of employees continue to work remotely in the suburbs rather than commute into the city, according to a new report by Pew Charitable Trusts.

The permanent trend toward remote work is contributing to Philadelphia’s tepid economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic and a decline in the total workforce overall, Pew found. The full report, the latest in a series on Philadelphia’s Fiscal Future, published in partnership with the William Penn Foundation is available on Pew’s website.

The report raises concerns that Philly could experience an uneven, inequitable recovery inflicting particular pain on some of the city’s residents, especially people of color, said report coauthor Larry Eichel.

Amid the pandemic, lower-wage jobs in hotels, restaurants, and other leisure sectors disappeared, hurting already disadvantaged Philadelphians with lower incomes who held these service positions.

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

BET Investments pays $30M for Prudential Insurance Co. property in Upper Dublin

BET Investments Inc. has closed on the purchase of Prudential Insurance Co.’s 90-acre campus, paying $30.25 million for the property that is visible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

The property at 2101 Welsh Road in Upper Dublin has three interconnected office buildings that total 861,000 square feet and surface parking lots that have 2,175 spaces. Prudential was the seller.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reported in April that BET Investments had put the property under contract. 

Prudential developed the buildings between 1972 and 1986 as its Central Atlantic home office and had hundreds of employees working from the campus. The insurer is expected to vacate the complex by the end of 2023. 

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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 seven years, South Philadelphia’s Bok building is 98% leased

Philadelphia

Seven years ago this July, Scout Ltd. closed on buying the 8-story, 338,000-square-foot Edward W. Bok Vocational School at 1901 S. 9th St. in South Philadelphia. 

The hulking building was vacant at the time and Lindsey Scannapieco, Scout’s managing partner, had ambitions to convert the former school, which she described in a recent interview as a “giant castle,” into an innovative mixed-use development. “We always knew it was going to be a long-term project,” Scannapieco said. “How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time and that has been our approach to Bok.”

While that method has worked, it’s not one that can be deployed at just any building and the Bok isn’t just any building. The Bok is now 98% occupied with an eclectic mix of 250 different tenants that include artists, makers, nonprofits, and cultural organizations, among others. 

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Inks Long-Term Lease for New Headquarters

The Philadelphia Inquirer has signed a long-term lease at 100 Independence Mall West for its new headquarters, which is set to accommodate increased hybrid and remote work.

The 193-year-old newspaper is set to occupy 36,744 square feet on the sixth floor of 100 Independence Mall West, a 419,175-square-foot office building owned by Keystone Development + Investment that is now 97% leased.

“This move underscores our commitment to Philadelphia and our work by putting The Philadelphia Inquirer in the most historic setting in the country,” Inquirer Publisher and CEO Lisa Hughes said in a press release. “We are eager to be in our new space, which we are designing to allow us to collaborate in new and innovative ways.”

*Article courtesy of Costar

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

UK digital media company picks Philadelphia for U.S. headquarters

Philadelphia

Hybrid, a United Kingdom digital media firm that counts Thomas Jefferson University among its biggest clients, has selected Philadelphia for its U.S. headquarters and plans to grow the new office to 80 employees over the next two to three years. 

After the company conducted an analysis of cities that considered a variety of factors including business friendliness and ability to recruit talent, the firm narrowed its search down to Philadelphia and Boston. Both cities are in proximity to clients and had other characteristics that appealed to the company but Hybrid ultimately selected Philadelphia.

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

Space at 801 Market St. housing new Giant Heirloom Market sells for hefty profit

An entity affiliated with Alterra Property Group has sold a commercial condominium housing a new Giant Heirloom at 801 Market St. in Philadelphia for $21.63 million. 

The entity, 801 Market Partners LLC, sold the 32,000-square-foot space to Realty Income Trust of San Diego (NYSE: O). 

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

WCRE Completes/-3,468 SF Office Space in Philadelphia

Center City Return to Work

WCRE is proud to have exclusively represented Sadek & Cooper, in the leasing of 3,468 square feet of office space located at Two Penn Center, 1500 JFK Blvd., Philadelphia, PA from Crown Two Penn Center Associates, LLP an entity controlled by ASI Management.

Sadek & Cooper is a multi-disciplinary law firm specializing in both Family Law and Bankruptcy. Sadek & Cooper offers an array of services to individuals who are seeking bankruptcy solutions to their debt problems. Their lawyers provide individuals a meticulous analysis of their client’s options in numerous areas; Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Mortgage Foreclosure, Student Loan Debt Relief, Tax Foreclosure and related areas of debt relief.

Two Penn Center is a Class “A” twenty story, 540,000 square foot office building at 1500 JFK Blvd.  Two Penn is directly across the street from Love Park providing tenants direct access to the recently renovated and iconic Philadelphia Park.  Two Penn also sits directly above Suburban Station and offers direct access to the Concourse, allowing employees to make the trip from desk to train in 5 minutes or less.  Built in 1960, Two Penn has undergone major renovations to the lobby and common areas and is professionally maintained.  Two Penn has numerous tenants who provide professional services in the fields of law, financial services, marketing and technology.

Todd Monahan, Executive Vice President and Managing Director at WCRE exclusively represented the tenant in this transaction.

Rawle & Henderson to relocate Philadelphia headquarters, reduce its office space by half

Chubb Ltd. Offices for Philadelphia

Rawle & Henderson will cut its office space in half when it relocates its Philadelphia headquarters from the Widener Building to 1500 Market St. next year. 

The venerable litigation defense firm has been located in the Widener Building at 1339 Chestnut St. since 1989. It will be moving into parts of two of the six floors vacated at 1500 Market by mortgage insurer Radian Corp. (NYSE: RDN).

Rawle will be taking all of the 19th floor (28,009 square feet) and part of the 20th (8,187 square feet) for a total of 36,196 square feet. That compares to 69,420 square feet it currently occupies at the Widener Building. 

The move will take place when the firm’s current lease expires in April 2023. It plans to sublease space from Radian, beginning May 1, 2023 and ending July 31, 2032. That is the remainder of Radian’s lease agreement at 1500 Market.

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

Rubenstein Partners makes headway on $50M Chesterbrook repositioning

Three years after buying Chesterbrook corporate park and its 1.1 million square feet of office space, Rubenstein Partners is making progress on a $50 million repositioning of the suburban campus. 

The Philadelphia real estate firm spent $10 million converting a vacant, 41,331-square-foot office building at 851 Duportail Road to house a fitness center, conference space, game room, café, indoor and outdoor lounge areas, and coworking. It is among the biggest additions under its plan to upgrade and lease vacant space in the office park. 

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.

Brandywine Realty puts 1900 Market St. up for sale

Chubb Ltd. Offices for Philadelphia

Ten years after buying 1900 Market St. in Philadelphia for $34.8 million, Brandywine Realty Trust has put the 456,922-square-foot building up for sale. The building, which is fully leased, could potentially trade for an estimated $200 million. 

The 8-story building will test investor interest in Center City office buildings, an asset class that has lost some luster during the pandemic for a variety of reasons including general uncertainty of future office use and downtown vibrancy. Many investors have also turned their attention to life sciences, industrial and multifamily properties. 

*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal

For more information about Philadelphia office 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.