Investor David Werner is expanding his portfolio in Pennsylvania.
David Werner Real Estate Investments has purchased a sprawling life sciences and office campus, spanning nearly 2 million square feet, for $180 million in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, CoStar reported.
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant which had owned the property since its acquisition of Wyeth in 2009, was the seller.
The transaction was supported by a $95 million fixed-rate commercial mortgage-backed securities loan, provided by Starwood Mortgage Capital and BMO Capital Markets. Negotiations for the financing were led by Iron Hound Management’s Robert Verrone, Christopher Herron, and Anthony D’Amelio, the outlet reported.
The campus, located at 400 and 500 Arcola Road near Philadelphia, consists of three 5-story office buildings, two 4-story research buildings, and a two-story cafeteria, the outlet reported..
The property is fully leased to Dow Chemical and Wyeth, a biopharmaceutical company under Pfizer. Dow occupies the 730,000-square-foot laboratory portion of the campus for its research and development activities. Following the sale, Wyeth renewed its lease agreement.
The acquisition adds to David Werner’s real estate portfolio, which includes the purchase of Pfizer’s Midtown East headquarters in 2018. Morgan Stanley provided Werner and his partners $150 million to finance that transaction.
Last year, Wells Fargo moved to take control of the ground underneath the 1,331-room Row NYC Hotel from Werner.
The bank, acting as the trustee for bond investors who hold the $275 million mortgage on the Midtown property, said in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan that Werner started missing payments on the loan in May 2020.
Werner owned the ground below the 28-story hotel at 700 Eighth Avenue with Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.
The hotel portion itself is owned by Highgate Hotels, the Rockpoint Group and NorthStar Realty Finance. The entity that owns the hotel failed to make payments to Werner and is in default on its lease, according to the lawsuit.
— Ted Glanzer