Philadelphia Office Campus Changes Hands

The Forge. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Vero A2R, a Dallas-based office investment platform of Vero Capital, has sold The Forge, a 160,000-square-foot office campus in King of Prussia, Pa., to an undisclosed buyer.

The property last traded in 2019, when Vero A2R acquired the office building for $16.5 million from Keystone, CommercialEdge data shows. The asset also became subject to a $15.2 million loan in 2020, with a maturity date set for 2030, provided by Citizens Financial Group.

Originally built in 1978, the two-building Class A campus was completely renovated in 2007. Following the 2019 acquisition, Vero A2R upgraded the three-story buildings by renovating the exteriors and lobbies, expanding the conference rooms and adding a tenant lounge. The property also features four passenger elevators, controlled access and 736 parking spaces.

During Vero’s ownership, occupancy increased to 93 percent. The tenant roster includes Greenphire, Broadview Networks, Goddard Systems and Medisys Solutions.

The office campus is located at 1016 W. 9th Ave., near the Benjamin Franklin Highway, providing easy access to interstates 76 and 276. Tenants have access to multiple dining options in the surrounding area. The Forge is also close to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, and within 22 miles from downtown Philadelphia.

The Newmark team facilitating the transaction included Senior Managing Directors David Dolan and Mike Margolis, Associate Angelo Brutico and Financial Analyst John Cook.

Philadelphia’s office sector performance

As of December 2022, Philadelphia’s office vacancy rate was 13.7 percent, a decrease of 70 basis points over the previous 12 months, and below the 16.5 percent national average rate, a recent CommercialEdge report shows.

With transactions slowing down in the second half of the year, Philadelphia’s office price per square foot for reached an average of $186 as of the end of 2022. Earlier this year, Ensemble Investments acquired two office buildings from Prologis in Wayne, Pa., in the King of Prussia submarket.