Jeffrey Seligsohn, president of locally based Seligsohn Soens Hess/TCN Worldwide who negotiated for the HMO, tells GlobeSt.com the aggregate value of the lease is $35 million. "Health Partners got naming rights for the building," Seligsohn says. "The move not only gives them greater visibility, but also helps revitalize that Market Street corridor between City Hall and Independence Mall."
John K. Binswanger, chairman, and Joseph M. Muldoon, SVP of locally based Binswanger/CBB, represented the owner, New York-based Vornado. Muldoon agrees that Health Partners' new headquarters location "is great for the further development of East Market and the city."
A Big Kmart occupies the ground floor of the building. The upper floors were mothballed since Gimbel's departed, and Vornado is restoring and renovating them. Approximately 81,000 sf of office space on those floors remains available, according to Binswanger. Base building work on the property includes a newly designed lobby, four elevators, a new roof, windows and HVAC. Frederick Taylor Associates is the architect, and Boston-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. is the general contractor. Partridge Architects is handling all tenant improvements.
"Health Partners' and Vornado's commitment to Center City and the restoration of the former Gimbel's Department Store is another indication of Philadelphia's appeal as a corporate headquarters facility," says Muldoon.
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