Liberty Wins Naval Business Center Job

PHILADELPHIA-Malvern, PA-based Liberty Property Trust will develop approximately 1 million sf of office space in Gateway, a 60-acre parcel inside the main gate of the 1,200-acre Philadelphia Naval Business Center. Liberty’s plan was among three submitted to Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which owns PNBC.

Gateway is one of three zones within the former navy base located in South Philadelphia along the Delaware River. The Gateway campus is cleared for new construction.

PIDC initially sent requests for quotes for the 60-acre parcel to 10 development companies, John Grady, PIDC senior vice president, tells GlobeSt.com.

“From among those, three were selected to submit more detailed plans for development and acquisition of the land,” he says.

The other two developers in the running were Plymouth Meeting, PA-based Brandywine Realty Trust and Dallas-based Liberty Property Group.

“We are negotiating the details of an agreement, including costs, and it should be finalized within the next 30 to 60 days,” Grady says.

He tells GlobeSt.com the Liberty plan is a campus-style design that calls for approximately seven to eight mid-rise, three-story to five-story buildings, totaling about 1 million sf of office space. “It offers a new opportunity for companies to obtain suburban-style product in an urban location with all the amenities of a city,” Grady says.

A December 2001 study of PNBC by the local office of Princeton, NJ-based Hillier architects described the Gateway parcel as “crucial to the overall image and, ultimately, the marketability of (the center).