PPA to continue negotiations over Chestnut Street redevelopment

The Philadelphia Parking Authority's board decided last week to continue its negotiations with Brickstone Realty Cos. over a stretch of properties along the 1000 block of Chestnut Street, according to a PlanPhilly report.

Brickstone, which owns 1021 Chestnut St., and the PPA, which owns a neighboring property that includes a parking garage and vacant street-level retail, began conversations last year about overhauling the adjacent East Market buildings.

The PPA board's vote means the conversations will continue, although a contract is still needed for construction to move forward – something PPA Deputy Executive Director Richard Dickson hopes will happen before the end of the year, PlanPhilly said.

The preliminary sketch of the deal would see the two parties trading air rights over their properties, netting the PPA $13 million. That $13 million, however, would go to the estimated $27 million construction cost of the garage. Last year, the PPA board approved a $10 million loan to rehabilitate the 10th and Ludlow garage, the authority’s oldest. That money could easily be shifted to fund construction, said Dickson, and the PPA’s future development fund could cover the remaining building costs.

Brickstone is already heavily invested in the East Market area. The company revamped the Lit Brothers building and last year bought the Hale Building, which it plans to renovate.

The PPA has also taken steps in recent years to improve its real estate holdings, like the parking garage in Chinatown.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal