A private investor has acquired the Chocolate Factory, a
property that takes up a city block in Philadelphia, for $8.5 million.
The buyer involves several partners and goes under the
name 2101 Washington Avenue Associates, according to people familiar with the
transaction.
The property takes up a city block in Philadelphia.
The property at 2101 Washington Ave. has the former
240,682-square-foot Frankford Chocolate Factory occupying the site, which
totals 2.3 acres.
The site is bound by 21st Street to 22nd Street on
Washington Avenue along to Kimball Street and is in the popular Graduate
Hospital neighborhood. CBRE Inc. arranged the transaction.
The property was eyed by several developers who liked its
location and potential. However, some prospective buyers walked away from the
property earlier this year when an election for a local representative was
influx, according to people familiar with the situation.
A portion of the Chocolate Factory dates back to 1865. It
has stood vacant since 2006 when the chocolate company relocated.
The following year, Tran Dinh Truong of New York bought
the site for $5.5 million and had bold plans to construct a $100 million
complex that catered to the local Vietnamese community. The project never got
off the ground and Truong died in 2012 without a will, putting into question
the fate of his empire that he made from owning hotels in and around Times
Square, according to published reports. A court is liquidating the estate and
this is the only property in Philadelphia that he owned.
The seller of the property is involved with Truong’s
estate.
A new buyer has options with the property including
converting the existing building into a mixed-use complex with residential and
retail or raze the structure and start anew.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to show a sale
price of $8.5 million not $8.4 million and the name of the buyer.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
No comments:
Post a Comment