Project Outline
Brandywine Realty Trust (BRT) had acquired a 1,700,000 square foot, fifteen (15) building portfolio of class “A” space, located in Radnor, Pennsylvania. BRT faced an unprecedented amount of available space for a single suburban submarket. The largest tenant in the portfolio had vacated more than 800,000 square feet, which when combined with 200,000 square feet of additional vacancy throughout the portfolio, resulted in 1,000,000 square feet of available space. The market perception of large vacancies within the Radnor portfolio, combined with several lingering vacancies in competing properties, continued to place downward pressure on the economics of larger transactions.
SREA was retained to work as an independent, yet closely linked extension, of BRT’s leasing and management team. Services were provided to senior management of BRT and SREA collaborated to formulate key performance goals and objectives for the Radnor leasing effort.
Services Provided
- Established BRT’s new ownership position in the market and reinforced ownership’s desire to drive intelligent momentum and “see every deal”
- Seamlessly melded the Radnor team with key BRT contacts (legal, construction, lease administration, etc.)
- Created fluid workflow processes to ensure adoption of BRT procedures, documentation and policies
- Conceptualized and implemented an all-encompassing marketing game plan that included print, press releases, advertising, broker events and tenant events
- Undertook a leasing game plan that offered space incrementally and created different price points for various options
- Designed a central concentration of amenities to reinforce uniqueness and exclusivity of the market
- Defined a reporting structure in order to provide guidance and instruction to junior leasing personnel so that skill sets could develop to the point of greater independence
- Expanded external support and resources by having SREA grow its leasing team in order to generate direct deal activity and engage in direct marketing
- Worked with BRT’s Development and Construction team to reposition the 555 East Lancaster Avenue building into the portfolio’s flagship building and gateway to the Radnor submarkets
How SREA Added Value
SREA increased tenancy to 91% across the portfolio including franchise transactions such as Comcast (67,000 square feet) and Lincoln Financial Group (182,000 square feet). Highlights of the assignment included:
- Re-establishing Radnor as the premier Philadelphia suburban submarket
- Increasing rents from mid-$20s per rentable square foot to as much as $35 per rentable square foot, plus electric
- Successfully met investor expectations through timely lease-up of vacant spaces while retaining and expanding the existing tenant base
- Achieving 100% occupancy to top-flight office and service tenants such as Aon Service Corporation, Susanna Foo, Fleming’s Steakhouse and Wine Bar and Town Sports International, Inc., at the critically acclaimed 555 East Lancaster Avenue building