Liberty has enlisted a team headed by Mark De Riemer in the New York City office of Jones Lang LaSalle to market the site. The Malvern-based developer completed the eight-story, 252,193-sf property at 835 W. Hamilton St. for PPL in July 2003 at a cost of approximately $60 million. The building represented the cornerstone of the revitalization of the CBD.

Designed by New York City-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects, it received a LEEDs gold rating from the US Green Building Council. Liberty manages the building under the direction of Robert Kiel, SVP and Lehigh Valley/Harrisburg regional director in Liberty's Bethlehem office.

There is no asking price, Jeanne Leonard, a Liberty VP, tells GlobeSt.com. She confirms that PPL was given a first right of refusal to buy the building, but declined to exercise that right. De Riemer, who is working with Ashley Fitzgerald and Tom Beneville in the same JLL office on the sales and marketing, also declined to disclose an asking price or estimate of what the building might command. "It will clearly break a record for office property sales in the Lehigh Valley," he tells GlobeSt.com. "There may be some interest from investors overseas, but it most likely will be a domestic buyer, such as an institutional investor, which could include a net lease investor, because of the lease-term and tenant."

A Lehigh Valley developer and two area brokers also tell GlobeSt.com the price would set a record here, but were reluctant to speculate. On condition of anonymity, one suggests, "it's likely that it could push over the $100-million mark, maybe way over." Of that estimate, the other says, "that would take it to a range of $400 per sf, which certainly far exceeds office property sales in this area, but it is a true trophy."

According to the Liberty website, the building is 81.9% leased and the asking rental rate ranges from $13 per sf to $16 per sf. Keystone Nazareth Bank & Trust has a long-term lease for 5,700 sf of the building's ground floor retail space. According to published reports, Amazon Café has also inked a lease along with Johnny Manana's, a Philadelphia-based Mexican restaurant. The building is in a designated Keystone Opportunity Zone, which provides significant tax breaks.

Instant Insights /

Liberty Puts Plaza at PPL Center Up for Sale

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