$100M Horsham office portfolio in play?

Rizk Ventures is reportedly buying a portfolio of office properties in Horsham, Pa., from Liberty Property Trust in a transaction valued at an estimated $100 million.

The deal, which involves more than 40 properties Liberty (NYSE: LPT) owns in the Montgomery County office submarket, will mark the company’s exit from it, according to multiple sources.

This building at 220 Commerce Drive in Fort Washington, Pa., is in a submarket undergoing changes.

At the same time, it will be Rizk’s first foray into the Philadelphia region’s office market.

Rizk is a New York investment firm that was formed by Thomas A. Rizk, who operated a company called Cali Realty Corp. that was later merged with another company to form Mack-Cali Realty Corp.

A spokewoman from Liberty declined to comment on market rumors. An official from Rizk couldn’t be reached for comment.

Horsham and Fort Washington, which make up the submarket, have been in transition this year.

Earlier, Brookwood Financial Partners closed on a $183 million, 29-building office portfolio that gave it six properties in Fort Washington including 500 and 501 Office Center Drive and 220 Commerce Drive. That deal meant the exit of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) from that suburban office market.

If Liberty’s deal with Rizk is finalized, it means that Liberty will also be out of it. Liberty, like Brandywine, has been paring down its suburban office holdings to focus on what it deems as core holdings.

The transaction, if completed, will mean a big change for the submarket.

“Horsham will have totally new ownership,” said John Susanin, a suburban office broker with Colliers International.

Aside from Brookwood and Rizk, other real estate players have picked up properties in the area.

Kairos Real Estate Partners of King of Prussia, Pa., along with Artemis Real Estate Partners of Bethesda, Md., paid $30 million to buy an office complex in Fort Washington, Pa., where NutriSystem Inc. makes its world headquarters. An entity affiliated with PernaFrederick Commercial Real Estate paid $2.45 million for 410 Horsham Road, an 88,045-square-foot office building.

Susanin is bullish on the submarket even though it hasn't been highly sought after for several years.

He noted that Fort Washington-Horsham has benefited from several companies moving their headquarters to the area and new building owners planning to invest money to upgrade the buildings they bought. The vacancy of its Class A space, which totals about 850,000 square feet, has dwindled down to 8.6 percent and rents are on the rise.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal