PHILADELPHIA — IStar Financial Inc. of New York and Dranoff Properties Philadelphia will move forward with converting the unfinished floors at Two Liberty Place into condominiums.

Last year, iStar, which has title to the undeveloped portion of the tower, had considered putting in a 150-room hotel in the space. The work will essentially complete the Residences at Two Liberty, which the previous owner initiated in 2005 but stopped during the recession. The building is at 1601 Chestnut St.

1.2 million

Square feet of total building

58

Number of stories

10

Number of floors that will be converted

48-57

Which floors will be converted

60

Number of new condos to be constructed

THE FINE PRINT

$4.13M

A property at 201 Spring Garden St. in Philadelphia that has 17 residential units and 17 parking spaces traded for $4.14 million. The seller was an entity going under the name 925 North Associates while the buyer is SAS Wyndmoor Properties. Ken Mallin and Russ Panchelli of MPN Realty Inc. handled both sides of the deal.

$6.1M

A property at 311 Poplar St. in Philadelphia with eight townhouse apartments and an eight-vehicle parking lot traded for $6.1 million. It was constructed about 10 years ago for just shy of $2 million. SAS Wyndmoor Properties picked up the property. The seller was 908 Third Associates. MPN Realty Inc. arranged this transaction.

3,264 s.f.

First Financial Group, an affiliate of MassMutual, leased an additional 3,264 square feet at Two Bala Plaza in Bala Cynwyd. The company now occupies the entire ninth floor, or 19,650 square feet, of the building.

20,000 s.f.

Chartwell Law Offices leased the entire 26th floor, or roughly 20,000 square feet, of One Logan Square at 130 N. 18th St. in Philadelphia. The firm will move from 1735 Market St. The firm was formed in 2002 with four lawyers in Valley Forge and now has 90 lawyers in several offices along the East Coast.

Walnut Street Theatre

6,235 s.f.

Lumber Liquidators signed a 10-year lease on 6,235 square feet at the former Pennsylvania DMV building at 1530 Columbus Blvd. in Philadelphia. The lease is valued at more than $1.8 million. The store is expected to open in the fourth quarter. Richard Soloff of Soloff Realty & Development Inc. represented the landlord while Brandon Anapol of Metro Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant.

3,329 s.f.

Professional Planning Associates, a financial planning firm, leased 3,329 square feet on the third floor at 400 Market St. in Philadelphia. It will relocate in January from 1429 Walnut St. in Philadelphia.

Ken Clyman of Ken Clyman Realty represented the tenant while Joe Viturelloand Daniel Gummel at PernaFrederick Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord.

New Name, New identity

Rubenstein Partners bought Penn Mutual Towers earlier this year and has renamed the office building One Washington Square. The 850,000-square-foot complex at 510-530 Walnut St. consists of three connected office buildings. It renamed the property to establish a new identity for it since the insurance company it was named after has no presence in the building. The new name also helps give people a better idea of its location. It overlooks two premier sites in Philadelphia — Washington Square and Independence Hall.

Natalie Kostelni, Reporter
Philadelphia Business Journal

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