A joint venture of Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Ltd. (“LPT”) was selected by the Philadelphia Development Corporation (“PIDC”) to develop the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a 1,200-acre site located along the Delaware Riverfront. The first step for LPT’s consultant team, lead by Robert Stern Architects and EDAW, was to create an implementable master plan for this large-scale project. As part of the consultant team, RESGroup provided feedback regarding the potential absorption and phasing for a variety of uses, the locations for each use, and the level of financial support needed to make the individual projects successful.
RESGroup completed the market due diligence for residential condominiums, townhouses, and rehabilitated loft rentals, a hotel conference center, and a proposed marina. Ideal residential unit mix and amenities were recommended, and a financial analysis of the residential uses was also provided to help understand maximum supportable debt and the need for public private partnerships to increase the chance of success.
Given the size and unique opportunity of the Navy Yard redevelopment, PIDC wanted to understand the potential opportunities and risks for other large-scale developments, as well as lessons learned by both the developers and the local municipalities. As such RESGroup prepared case studies for similar projects including Mission Bay in San Francisco, CA; Alameda Point in Alameda, CA; the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, MA; and Eagle View in Exton, PA.
RESGroup was later engaged to complete project specific market and financial feasibility studies for a new Biotechnology Center, and for a renovation and expansion of an industrial building for use as a sound stage to support the City’s Film Office program. The analyses resulted in recommendations for a phased-investment approach. RESGroup provided additional advice and strategies on subsequent projects as the Navy Yard continued to grow.
Since the completion of the master plan, there have been 7.5 million square feet of space occupied at the Navy Yard, with 165 companies and 13,500 employees located in these office and industrial buildings. Tenants include IROKO Pharmaceuticals, Adaptimmune, Urban Outfitters, and WuXi AppTec, Inc., among many others. Recently, Axalta Coating Systems announced they would locate their new 175,000 square foot Global Innovation Center at the campus.
