Gladstone Buys Suburban Philly Office Asset

By Corina Stef

2 Ash St., Conshohocken, Pa.

Gladstone Commercial Corp. has enhanced its suburban Philadelphia presence with the acquisition of a 60,016-square-foot, Class A office building in Conshohocken, Pa. The property traded for $15.45 million and it represents the firm’s first acquisition in this submarket. The seller was the building’s original developer, an affiliate of Oliver Tyrone Pulver Corp., which has been retained by the new owner as property manager. CBRE’s Robert Fahey and Jerry Kranzel acted on behalf of the seller.

The deal also included the assumption of existing debt, a fixed-rate mortgage maturing in approximately nine years and bearing an interest rate of 3.55 percent.

“This transaction is an excellent acquisition in a sound market and continues our historical program of closing with attractive fixed-rate debt on our properties. This strategy protects our going-forward returns should interest rates rise,” Gladstone President Bob Cutlip said in a prepared statement.

Single-tenant lease

Built in 1997, the three-story property is located at 2 Ash St. Since its completion, it has been occupied by a single tenant, Fortune 500 construction contractor Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., which plans to occupy the building for more than eight years. Overlooking the Schuylkill River, the building is bounded by hotels, banks, eateries and retailers. Transportation is facilitated by various bus lines located nearby, but also major arteries such as Schuylkill Expressway, Veterans Memorial Highway and Interstate 76, which provides easy access to and from Philadelphia.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix