philadelphia real estate

Condos in Philadelphia's Waterfront Square Project Up For Auction

Waterfront Square, a luxury condominium project on the Delaware River in Philadelphia is the site of a new condo auction. The Philadephia Inquirer reports that this is the fourth time in a little more than a year that units in this building are being auctioned off. A total of 35 condos are being put up for auction at an event being held by Accelerated Marketing Partners. The condos are located in a formerly industrial area and the nearest neighbor is the SugarHouse Casino, a fact which according to the article, is actually a boon for local residents.

The first two towers at Waterfront Square, which were completed in late 2005 and early 2006, are sold out, except for one unit but the newest tower, a 179-unit high-rise called the Reef is the one that has faced difficult times. It was 72 percent presold when September 2008 rolled around and one of the lenders was Lehman Brothers. The completion of the tower was delayed for a year and the bulk of buyers who had signed contracts backed out.

Waterfront Square is a gated community on 10 acres. A grass-covered parking garage forms the largest green roof in Philadelphia. There is a fitness center, pool, clubhouse and a concierge in each tower building.

The 35 units include one-bedroom and two-bedroom units and minimum bid prices range from $195,000 to $415,000 which is over 50 percent off the original selling prices. The auction takes place November 21, at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing, 201 S. Columbus Blvd.

Tags: pennsylvania real estate, philadelphia real estate, philadephia, waterfront square

Luxury Philadelphia Condo Building Could Face Foreclosure

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Another luxury condo project could be headed for foreclosure. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the senior lender for the 10 Rittenhouse Square condo project is seeking to foreclose on it and put it in receivership. The 33-story project has 135 condominiums priced from $600,000 to $15 million as well as retail and restaurants space. So far a total of 41 units have either been sold or are under contract with another five currently in negotiation. The luxury building has a 24-hour doorman service, a concierge, indoor pool, fitness center, garden area, guest suite and other amenities. The units have massive windows with city views, high ceilings, hardwood floors, and private balconies and terraces.

Istar Tara L.L.C., of New York originally had about $251 million in two loans but with recent sales that number is closer to $190 million. The project's mezzanine lender, Delaware Valley Real Estate Investment Fund, which has $57 million invested in the project, sued Istar back in July and its subsidiary, Rittenhouse Pension Investors L.L.C., assumed management of 10 Rittenhouse from developer ARCWheeler Inc. Istar Tara appears to be in major trouble and might see bankruptcy protection. It has a total of $8.6 billion in debt.

Istar also was the senior lender for another Philadelphia-area project, Aria, which then went into receivership, but eventually was revived when a new investor GoldOller Aria Associates of Philadelphia bought the unsold units and commercial space at a sheriff's sale in November.

Tags: 10 rittenhouse square, istar, istar tara, pennsylvania real estate, philadelphia real estate, rittenhouse, rittenhouse square