seven

Locally based Binswanger represented the seller, identified as Ridaj Associates, and the buyer, a limited partnership identified by the building's address, in the sales transaction. Frank Binswanger, chairman, tells GlobeSt.com the General Services Administration's lease, on behalf of the IRS, is scheduled to expire in 2010. He acknowledges that the tenant is permitted to exit in 2008, but says the IRS indicated it would not. "They need to find a new location, and it takes time to find another place," he says. Binswanger manages the building.

In July 2006, a spokesperson for the GSA told GlobeSt.com that no specific determination of how much of the overall space the IRS leases here, which aggregates 982,000 sf in seven buildings, would be vacated and when. She did acknowledge that the IRS paper-processing operations here would conclude this September. The Philadelphia operation is the largest of 10 such operations nationwide that are being closed because of the public's rapid acceptance of tax e-filing.

Binswanger declined to disclose the building's selling price, but says it was initially offered at $18 million. According to public records, the price was nearly $12.8 million. It is more of a call center than a traditional office space. Binswanger says it was totally renovated and expanded in the 1989-1990 timeframe. "It's a very good building in a very good location," he says, declining to speculate on what the new owner plans, once the IRS exits.

Port Washington, NY-based Cedar Shopping Centers acquired a 49%-interest in the larger building, which is located on 24 acres, in partnership with Inrevco Associates LP. At that time, Leo Ullman, Cedar's CEO, told GlobeSt.com the partnership planned to redevelop it for retail use, once the IRS left. "The site possesses strong redevelopment possibilities," he said, noting that his company already has a substantial retail presence here.

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