Adjmi Picks Up Tishman’s Redevelopment in Philly Suburb

One New York real estate player is stepping in for another as a large office redevelopment in a Philadelphia suburb takes shape.

The Adjmi family of A&H Acquisitions, in partnership with FLD Group, are planning seven developments across the Bala Plaza office campus in Bala Cynwyd, a community within Lower Merion Township, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The partners acquired the campus last year from Tishman Speyer for $185 million.

With redevelopment approvals in place, the partners spent six months evaluating Tishman’s work on the redevelopment of the 1.1 million-square-foot campus before deciding to largely adhere to the developer’s previous proposals.

The owners are eyeing a hotel, a retail center and apartment buildings as part of a much bigger transformation of City Avenue in the Philadelphia suburb.

Tishman received approval for its master plan, which included 2.1 million square feet of new development with multiple retail offerings, a 168-key hotel, 750 residential units and 750,000 square feet for offices. From 2017 on, Tishman spent $56 million on capital investments.

As it stands, the property features four office buildings and a Saks Fifth Avenue department store across its vast 61 acres. From 2007 to 2022, the average occupancy of the office space was 91 percent, according to CBRE, and the two largest tenants have leases that run for at least another decade.

Harry and Bob Adjmi plan to forge ahead with the redevelopment in the next three to five years. They aim to start with the hotel project and a pair of multifamily buildings, while a retail center would be held until things are further along. The projects would unfurl over surface lots surrounding the existing properties.

Other nearby projects include Federal Realty Investment Trust’s 217-unit project at 121 East City Avenue and Keystone Development & Investment’s 270-unit project, dubbed One Belmont.

— Holden Walter-Warner