PHILADELPHIA-A $25-million check from the man who gave The Kimmel Center a jump-start and its name gets the long-planned new National Museum of American Jewish History off the ground. The 80,000-sf, five-story, glass-and-stone structure is planned for Independence Mall.

PHILADELPHIA-King of Prussia, PA-based O'Neill Properties pays $73.62 per sf for the railroad company's former data center located on 5.6 acres at 750 Moore Rd. in King of Prussia. The property is vacant and expandable to 86,000 sf.

PHILADELPHIA-After two tries, the state unloads Laurelton Center, a 52-building facility for the mentally handicapped 30 miles east of State College, PA. In lieu of cash, owners of Woodward Camp trade unspecified construction investments, future taxes and economic benefits worth $3.8 million.

PHILADELPHIA-In three transactions, the Plymouth Meeting, PA-based retail REIT signs leases totaling 11,267 sf of additional space at Whitemarsh Shopping Center in Conshohocken, PA; Park Hills Plaza in Altoona, PA and at a former Friendly's restaurant next to its headquarters.

PHILADELPHIA-The Baltimore-based owner puts the 18-story, 435,000-sf office building at 3535 Market St. on the block for an asking price of $195.40 per sf. Located in the University Science Center, it is 93% leased at about $25.50 per sf.

PHILADELPHIA-Hit with an estimated $50-million loss on an Enron-built $280-million power plant in Illinois, Pittsburgh's largest locally-owned construction firm will stay in offices in nearby Large, PA and sell or lease its nearly completed 84,000-sf headquarters at The Waterfront.

PHILADELPHIA-The 21.4% third-quarter vacancy rate for office space in suburban Columbus, OH is 1.9 points higher than in third quarter 2001, pushing asking rates down $0.19 per sf and fostering incentives that cut effective rates by between 10% and 20%.

PHILADELPHIA-Although third-quarter office market data shows a drop of $0.11 per sf in asking rental rates, the vacancy rate held at 15.7%, and sublease space availability is slowing, suggesting the worst is over, according to Grubb & Ellis research.