Centre Square Bidding War Erupts as Developer Scoops Offer

The future of Philadelphia’s largest office property is turning into a free-for-all.

Months after local developer Dean Adler and PMC Property Group appeared poised to acquire Centre Square, a pair of rival bidders emerged with competing visions for the distressed office complex. One is even accusing a court-appointed receiver of shutting it out of the process, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

New York-based CSC Coliving submitted an $80 million bid last week for the 1.76 million-square-foot property at 1500 Market Street, topping Adler and PMC’s previously disclosed $70 million agreement. The bid includes a $2.5 million nonrefundable deposit and no due diligence period, a signal the firm is trying to muscle its way to the front of the line.

The bid surfaced just days after another developer, Huntingdon Valley-based Universal Group, filed a motion to intervene in the property’s foreclosure case, alleging CBRE receiver John Svorcek improperly rejected its own $75 million all-cash offer in February.

Universal claims CBRE told the company the property was already “under agreement” and no other offers could be entertained, despite the Adler-PMC deal still requiring court and lender approval. Universal called the response “materially misleading.”

The property’s future is one of Philadelphia’s highest-profile redevelopment questions. Centre Square’s towers — the 36-story East Tower and 43-story West Tower — have struggled with vacancy since owners Nightingale Properties and InverVest Capital Partners fell into foreclosure in 2023. Roughly $375 million remains tied to the CMBS loan backing the property, court filings show. The complex last traded for $328 million in 2017.

CSC Coliving, a Manhattan-based adaptive reuse developer, said it plans to convert large portions of the mostly empty towers into residential units or a hotel while preserving occupied office space to avoid tenant displacement. The firm also floated adding retail uses to the

complex across from City Hall, though details remain sparse.

Universal chief executive officer Shamikh Kazmi, meanwhile, has explored bringing a Hard Rock hotel to the property, court documents show.

— Holden Walter-Warner