by Natalie Kostelni-Staff Writer, Philadelphia Business Journal An affiliate of the Philadelphia Performing
An affiliate of the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School has finalized the purchase of Three Franklin Plaza in Center City for $29 million.
The eight-story 226,890-square-foot office building at 1600 Vine St. had been occupied by GlaxoSmithKline before the pharmaceutical company relocated to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Liberty Property Trust was the seller.
DeMedici II Corp., which oversees the charter school, bought the building by using a portion of a $55.5 million bond that was underwritten by George K. Baum & Co., an underwriter of educational-related bond issues. Santilli & Thomson served as the charter school’s financial consultant and Sand & Saidel was its legal consultant. Binswanger arranged the real estate transaction.
Liberty Property Trust constructed Three Franklin in 1999 for GlaxoSmithKline. The Malvern, Pa., real estate investment trust was prepared to spend millions repositioning the vacant building for multi-tenants when the charter school offered to buy it. Plans now call for the school to spend between $10 million and $12 million on upgrades to convert spaces dedicated to performing arts such as a theater, performing arts studios, science labs, television and motion-capture studies, and an automotive engineering lab.
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