While trophy office buildings go begging, class A buildings in the Logan Circle, West Market submarket are leasing up, Bill Luff, SVP of the local office of Trammell Crow Co., tells GlobeSt.com. He negotiated the two insurers on behalf of the owner, Denver-based Amstar Group. The new tenants are American International Insurance Co., an affiliate of AIG, which took 57,772 sf in the building; and the Allstate Corp., which signed up for 17,412 sf. Ed O'Brian of McConnell Johnson Real Estate represented American International in the transaction. Kathie Carr and Toni Rossi of CB Richard Ellis spoke for Allstate.
Luff says Amstar has nearly completed "a multimillion-dollar renovation of the building", which was built in 1969. "The next phase, which includes upgrades to the park and Cherry Street," will be under way soon, he says. "While 88% occupancy is very good in the Center City market now, when Three Parkway is at 98%, which will occur in short order, we'll really be smiling," he says, adding, "and you can quote me."
According to published reports, which could not be confirmed, the two insurers' leases follow a 10-year lease for 140,000 sf at Three Parkway by excellRx, a large pharmaceutical care delivery company in the hospice field. Sources tell GlobeSt.com that Gov. Ed Rendell will announce this lease agreement within the next week.
According to fourth-quarter data from the local office of Trammell Crow, the average asking rental rate in the CBD is $20.48 per sf. Luff says that class A space in the Logan Circle/West Market submarket, however, is "above the blended average and in the low $20s per sf."
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