Post Brothers scored Philadelphia's priciest multifamily sale ever last year, a record $357 million, despite a turbulent economy where rising interest rates put the brakes on many other deals.
The multifamily landlord and developer made history in the Philadelphia market with its November sale of Presidential City, a 1,015-unit high-rise complex that includes four, 12-story buildings at 3900 City Ave. It was purchased by KKR and Mack Real Estate Group. The deal's size, and the fact it was executed in a challenging environment for acquisitions, earned it a 2023 CoStar Impact Award as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the area.
Philadelphia-based Post Brothers had opted to refinance the property in 2019, and KKR assumed that fixed-rate loan, which made the purchase appealing in spite of the turmoil in the macroeconomy.
When the real estate firm first acquired the property from Gebroe-Hammer Associates in 2012 for $51 million, the deal was the largest market-rate multifamily trade by units in Philadelphia that year. Following a massive renovation of the Class A luxury property, the sale to KKR represents a value increase of 600%.
About the project: Presidential City was alluring in part because of its renovations, which included the construction of a $7 million, 41,000-square-foot amenity center; multiple infinity pools; an office building and ground-floor retail space that is now occupied by a Panera Bread location.
What the judges said: "The sale price and size of this development is just astounding," said Kenneth Penn, president of Benchmark Construction Group, adding that the property is "also probably the most visible structure in Philadelphia as you enter the city from [Interstate] 76."
They made it happen: JLL Capital Markets senior managing directors Mark Thomson, Carl Fiebig and Jose Cruz, and senior director Fran Coyne, were involved in the transaction.