Developer to break ground on apartment complex in King of Prussia

Realen Properties is planning to break ground this summer on the first phase of a residential development at the Village at Valley Forge.

Many know the property off North Gulph Road in King of Prussia, Pa., for the Wegman’s that is located there and the building Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is constructing.

Realen plans to build an apartment complex with 363 units at the foot of what will be the Main Street of the site’s town center, said Dennis Maloomian, president of Realen Properties, which is developing the Village at Valley Forge in a joint venture with Northwestern Mutual. The complex will sit at the corner of Guthrie Road and Swedesford Road. Maloomian declined to disclose the project cost.

The design of the apartment building is different than what has traditionally been constructed in the Philadelphia area, Maloomian said. Called a “wrap” or “Texas donut,” the apartment building is wrapped around a parking structure, which is basically hidden from plain view. Apartments have typically been constructed on top of a parking structure or with detached or with a nearby surface parking lot.

This type of wrap development is not uncommon in other areas of the country and considered by some in the industry to be more cost effective and more convenient to residents who, depending on its design, can access parking from their units or floor. It is also used as a way to develop the maximum number of units on a small footprint and, in general, makes for a more attractive development by concealing the parking.

The Realen project will stand four stories and the garage matches floor-to-floor with the residential space, Maloomian said. The architect is KTGY, a firm from Vienna, Va.

This will be the first phase of the residential development at Village at Valley Forge, which has received approvals for a total of 2,000 residential units. The apartment project will likely be followed by a for-sale townhouse community. Maloomian declined to speculate when that might proceed though he said there is evidence the market is ready for it.

“We’ve received numerous phone calls regarding the for-sale product in this mixed-use walkable community,” he said. “It’s all starting to happen.”

Aside from apartments and townhouses, Realen will also consider constructing condominiums and units for seniors.

The Village at Valley Forge is also approved for 1.5 million square feet of office space in several mid-rise buildings as well as 500 hotel rooms. A so-called Main Street Town Center is being developed by JBG Rosenfeld, which bought 20 acres from Realen to construct 250,000 square feet of retail space over several buildings. The company has so far declined to disclose whether it has any tenants lined up though it is expected to begin construction before year end.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal