Rittenhouse Books $13M in MF Sales
Foreign capital is moving into Philadelphia to invest in core deals in Center City, says Rittenhouse Realty's Ken Wellar.
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Rittenhouse Realty Advisors completed three recent multifamily property sales totaling more than $13 million in the Philadelphia MSA. Walnut Tower, a 10-unit building located at 201 S. 22nd Street in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood traded for $6.105 million. The property contains nine luxury apartments with high-end finishes and one commercial unit, which was leased prior to sale by Rittenhouse Retail to The Color Room, a boutique salon based out of New Jersey.
Ken Wellar, managing partner at RRA, who arranged the transaction, noted the continued influx of foreign capital purchasing core deals in Center City. “The buyer in this transaction was from Hong Kong and Walnut Tower is their first acquisition in the Philadelphia MSA,” Wellar says. “They paid a record price per unit for Philadelphia – over $610,000 per unit.”
The firm also sold a newly constructed mixed-use property in Fishtown, at 629 E. Girard Avenue. The property consists of two commercial units and nine apartments with high-end finishes. Rittenhouse Retail leased one of the commercial units to Freedom Mortgage, the nation’s 5th largest mortgage provider, prior to sale. The building sold at a price of about $300,000 per unit.
“629 E. Girard offered the buyer an excellent opportunity to own a newly constructed mixed-use property in Fishtown, one of Philadelphia’s most highly sought-after neighborhoods,” says Corey Lonberger, managing partner at RRA.
The Rittenhouse Retail team, led by CEO Larry Steinberg, and associates Don Avellino, Evan Steinberg and Bar Woidislavsky, successfully leased the retail spaces of Walnut Towers and 629 E. Girard, enabling these sellers to achieve maximum value for their properties.
“This retail leasing capability is an important asset to any potential seller of commercial property, and provides RRA clients with a clear advantage in the marketplace,” says Steinberg.
The firm also closed the sale of Wynnefield Court, eight newly-constructed twin-style student townhomes that consist of 34 bedrooms/42 beds located at 5400 Wynnefield Avenue close to St. Joseph’s University. The property traded at about $500,000 per townhome, “a price reflective of its location two blocks from SJU as well as its 100% occupancy since construction,” according to Mark Duszak, director at RRA.