2 years after buy, owner of 2000 Market wants to sell

Two years after buying 2000 Market St. for $110 million, Gemini Rosemont Realty of Santa Fe, N.M., has decided to put the 29-story office tower up for sale.

The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church is a large tenant in 2000 Market St.

The company bought the 665,649-square-foot office building in March 2013. The purchase was part of a strategy to buy in prime locations in the mid-Atlantic and Rosemont indicated it was looking to expand in Philadelphia by acquiring additional properties in the market over the course of the following year. That didn't happen.

The company doesn’t comment on pending transactions, but it remains “bullish on the Philadelphia market and will continue to look for opportunities to buy in the Philadelphia CBD,” said Tina Renee McCall, a senior vice president at Gemini Rosemont, in a statement.

In the brief time Rosemont has owned the property, the office market in Philadelphia has steadily tightened up in trophy, Class A and Class B spaces. Rents also ticked up.

In addition, the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church-USA renewed its lease in the building. The nonprofit has been in the building since 1996 and occupies 76,998 square feet. It signed a 12-year lease.

It’s hard to say how much the property might trade for this time around. The strengthening of the office market, continued interest from outside investors in the city, as well as the long-term lease with the board of pensions have made it a stable investment.

Some estimates have it trading at around $140 million.

CBRE Inc. is marketing the property.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal