Developer buys prime NoLibs property

How Properties has acquired a highly visible property in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia and will develop a new apartment building.

The Conshohocken, Pa., developer paid an undisclosed amount for 1002-20 N. 2nd St., which sits across from the Piazza and around the corner from Liberties Walk.

Plans call for tearing down a small industrial building on the property and constructing a building that will have 53 apartments and 14,500 square feet of retail space. Rumors are that the retail space could be a grocery store.

The property garnered a tremendous amount of attention from investors because of its size and location since there are so few that remain in the fast-growing neighborhood. Twelve offers were made on it, and within a month of it being put up for sale, it was under contract.

“It’s the best development parcel that has been sold in Northern Liberties in a couple of years,” said Ken Mallin of MPN Realty. Mallin along with colleagues Veronica Blum and Josh Nadel arranged the transaction.

One of the aspects that made the property so attractive to the developer is its size, which is about 25,000 square feet, or about a half of an acre, that also stretches from Second Street to American Street. The other is that it fronts Second Street, which provides good visibility and access for a retailer.

How Properties has a small presence already in the neighborhood and this project will be the developer’s largest ground-up development.

“I love Northern Liberties and I love the fact that it’s on 2nd Street,” said Gary A. Jonas Jr., who heads up How Properties, about his purchase. “We like neighborhoods with real commercial corridors and 2nd Street is a real commercial corridor. We will be taking what is now pretty blighted frontage on 2nd Street and filling that in to create the density and foot traffic that you need to support the commercial space and bring people who can help that."

The developer will be razing a small building on the property from which Unipro Inc. operated. How has filed for a demolition permit and work will begin once that is finalized.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal