One of the 10 largest buildings in Philadelphia located on thecity's Avenue of the Arts, the Wachovia Building is 626,594 sf andincludes the unit encompassing floors six to 30 of 123 South BroadSt., and floors six to 11 of the adjacent Witherspoon Building. Thebuilding is 79% occupied, with the largest tenant, Wachovia,occupying 30% of the building. Another tenant is law firmMontgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads.

According to Seligsohn, the acquisition is illustrative of thecompany's strategy of acquiring quality class B office buildings inclass A locations. Once the asset is acquired, it adds valuesthrough new leasing and management strategies. The WachoviaBuilding, built in 1927, has recently undergone renovationsincluding new elevators, and upgrades to the common corridors andbathrooms. Its new owners plan to make additional improvements,including providing new amenities to the building, such as aConference Center and Fitness Center.

The firm will also focus on leasing up the remaining space."There is significant value that will be realized once wesuccessfully lease the 125,000 sf of current vacancy in the"Wachovia Building, Soens says. "The occupancy rate for South BroadSt. is over 95%, which is the highest of any submarket in the city.Therefore, we are confident that the remaining space will be leasedvery quickly." Soens adds that the company is already in leasenegotiations with several new tenants for 60,000 sf--close to 50%of the current vacancy, and it expect to reach the 95% level withinthe next 12 months.