PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Liberty Property Trust, which owns and manages more than 16 million square feet of office, flex and industrial space in the Greater Philadelphia region, together with its joint venture partner Synterra Partners, broke ground today on its third Class A flex building in The Navy Yard Commerce Center (and its fifth flex building at The Navy Yard). The 75,000 square foot building located at 4000 S. 26th Street is 100% pre-leased and will be home to three international tenants when it is completed this December. Liberty/Synterra is investing approximately $13 million in the project. The building completes the development of the 40-acre Navy Yard Commerce Center, located on the western side of The Navy Yard, which at full build-out will include approximately 525,000 square feet, 100% leased to nine tenants anchored by Tasty Baking Company.
“We are excited to announce that prior to putting a shovel into the ground, this new building is 100% pre-leased,” said Brian Cohen, Liberty Property Trust Vice President and City Manager, at today’s ceremony. “The appeal for high quality flex space centrally located in the region continues to attract new companies to The Navy Yard, in this case from as far as China, Australia and the United Kingdom. With all five flex buildings in The Navy Yard at capacity, we will continue to meet this growing demand with plans already underway for our sixth flex building.”
That sixth flex building is planned for 4701 League Island Blvd, and will be the third flex building located in the Mustin Park district of The Navy Yard. 4701 League Island Blvd will total approximately 75,000 square feet and will incorporate a highly designed brick and glass façade, a minimum of 20’ clear heights, and loading capabilities. Design is currently underway and the building could break ground as early as October 2014.
Tenants from China, Australia & England to Fill 4000 S. 26th Street at Opening
WuXi AppTec, Inc., a long term Liberty/Synterra tenant headquartered in China, will expand its presence into approximately 45,000 square feet of the building, bringing its total space with Liberty/Synterra in The Navy Yard to 130,000 square feet. The company was Liberty’s first tenant in The Navy Yard, breaking ground on a 75,000 square foot building in 2003. WuXi AppTec, a New York Stock Exchange-traded company of more than 7,000 employees, will manufacture cutting-edge cell therapies for its pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients to treat cancers and other devastating diseases. The new state-of the art GMP manufacturing facilities will allow WuXi to better serve its clients’ growing clinical and commercial manufacturing needs and bring important therapies to patients.
“We are thrilled to join with our partners to break ground on this incredible new flex space at The Navy Yard,” said John Grady, President of PIDC. “A dynamic, vibrant, and growing campus, The Navy Yard continues to attract global companies to Philadelphia. This new building will add to the variety of unique and flexible spaces that can accommodate growth and expansion. We are pleased to support these three companies’ expansions, and we welcome them to The Navy Yard.”
EcoSave, based in Australia, will occupy approximately 20,000 square feet in the new building. The company offers services to reduce energy and water consumption through building upgrades and ongoing Energy Management services.
Clinigen, globally headquartered in the United Kingdom, will occupy approximately 10,000 square feet in the new building. Clinigen is a specialty global pharmaceuticals and services business, dedicated to serving patients, the medical community and the healthcare industry to supply critical life saving treatments. Both EcoSave and Clinigen will use this new location for its U.S. headquarters operations.
“This exciting news is yet another expression of economic confidence in our great city, which is increasingly grabbing national and international attention,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “I’ve had the opportunity to travel to places like London, Israel, China and Italy to promote our city as a world-class destination for business, and I can say with a great deal of confidence that selling Philadelphia is no longer a tough job. People want to work and live here. The City of Philadelphia – and especially The Navy Yard – is attracting investment, developers, and businesses which continue to add new options to our already vibrant and diverse city.”
About Liberty Property Trust
Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty's 101 million square foot portfolio includes more than 700 properties which provide office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 1,800 tenants.
About Synterra
Synterra Partners is a local real estate development company founded in 1996. The firm has an extensive portfolio of projects that include hotels and resorts, commercial and retail developments both domestic and international. Synterra Partners has earned its extraordinary reputation by working successfully with public and private organizations to create innovative strategies for complex development projects.
About PIDC
Founded in 1958 as a non-profit joint venture between the City of Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, PIDC is Philadelphia’s city-wide economic development corporation. With a mission to attract investment and new jobs to the City, PIDC plans and implements financing and real estate transactions throughout all neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Over the last 56 years, PIDC has invested more than $11.7 billion of financing and more than 3,000 acres of land sales – which has leveraged over $21 billion in total investment and assisted in retaining and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in Philadelphia. In its master developer role at The Navy Yard, PIDC manages all aspects of the property’s management and development, including master planning, leasing, property management, infrastructure development, utility operation, and structuring development transactions. For more information, visit www.pidc-pa.org.
About The Navy Yard
The Navy Yard is a 1,200 acre, dynamic urban development, offering the Philadelphia region a unique and centrally-located waterfront business campus committed to smart energy innovation and sustainability. The Navy Yard is home to more than 11,000 employees and 143 companies in the office, industrial/manufacturing, and research and development sectors, occupying 6.5 million square feet of real estate in a mix of historic buildings and new high-performance and LEED certified construction. For more information, visit www.navyyard.org.