Wirth will be responsible for directing Brandywine's portfolio management activities, including working with its regional and corporate executive teams "to formulate capital allocation tactics" for the company's existing portfolio. In so doing he will also assist in the company's capital raising initiatives, including joint venture evaluation and transaction structuring. Wirth also will spearhead Brandywine's relationship management and investment committee activities.

Wirth has been with Feldman Mall Properties since 2004. Prior to that he spent seven years with SL Green, an office REIT, where he was CFO and, prior to that, its VP of Finance. Brandywine president/CEO Gerard H. Sweeney says Wirth's strong financial, capital markets and operational experience will enable him to "effectively contribute."

Feldman owns a few million square feet of mall properties. Brandywine owns 25.6 million square feet of mostly class A suburban office properties. Reached at his Feldman Properties office Tuesday evening, Wirth tells GlobeSt.com he spent a lot of time meeting with Brandywine executives prior to the announcement. "I'm excited to join the team and try to help them out," he says. "They have a great reputation."

Wirth's duties at Feldman will be taken over on an interim basis by current officers and employees as well as Board members Bruce E. Moore and James W. Sight, and Brandywine Financial Services Corporation (not affiliated with Brandywine Realty Trust), which currently provides the company with certain management and financial services through a pre-existing contract.

Wirth declined to discuss his reasons for leaving Feldman Properties, which got kicked off the NYSE 14 months ago after its stock price sank into penny stock territory. Its most recent stock quote on the Pink OTC Markets was $0.07. The company has issued only a few press releases since it left the NYSE.

It most recent announcement aside from Wirth leaving came June 4, 2009, when it announced the sale of its interest in Colonie Center to its partner Heitman Value Partners, for approximately $4.1 million. Feldman said the transaction allow it to receive proceeds that will be used to continue recapitalizing its obligations.

In January, Feldman announced that Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. had terminated its November 2008 agreement allowing Feldman to repurchase from Inland two million shares of 6.85% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock in exchange for giving Inland title to several of its properties.

Brandywine last month reported a third quarter profit of $5.1 million compared to a loss of $500,000 in the same year-earlier period, despite the issuance of more than 40 million additional shares earlier this year. Its NOI for 232 same-store properties decreased 0.8% on a GAAP basis on a 360-basis-point drop in occupancy to 88.8% from 92.4%.