A real estate team in Philadelphia helped to give new life to a historic building that used to house a once-thriving industrial powerhouse.
The NAI Summit team facilitated the sale of The Factory Building in southside Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to the Bethlehem Area School District in an $8 million deal. This acquisition allows BASD to expand vocational-technical education, benefiting students from three local school districts. The sale of The Factory Building at 315 Columbia St. has earned a 2025 CoStar Impact Award for sale of the year in Philadelphia, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The 40,150-square-foot building, constructed in the 1940s, was originally part of the headquarters of Bethlehem Steel, before the company began to wind down operations in the 1990s. Investors and local stakeholders sought ways to repurpose its legacy of heavy industrial buildings — most of which were redeveloped into entertainment, retail and dining venues.
The Factory LLC, with the support of innovation zone funding, acquired one of the former industrial buildings in 2019 and partnered with developer J.G. Petrucci Company to conduct renovations. The facility at 315 Columbia St. became a modern, premium flex space, reimagined with state-of-the-art commercial kitchens and innovative office spaces designed from repurposed shipping containers — creating a cutting-edge hub for food-and-beverage startups. After several years, The Factory investors opted to reorganize and partnered with NAI Summit brokers to divest portions of their real estate portfolio.
About the project: The Factory Building is a 40,150-square-foot building completed in the 1940s that has transitioned from a manufacturing hub to an innovation hub. With the $8 million sale to BASD, it has transformed into an educational facility, representing a new chapter in its legacy — one that will serve education and the community for years to come.
What the judges said: "I appreciate the sale of this building going to a public school system in the community. Great way to revitalize the old factory building while building a strong community foundation." —Eric Goldstein, president and CEO, King of Prussia Business Improvement District
"The repositioning of this site from its original roots as a manufacturing hub to then an innovation hub and now an educational hub shows the diverse and positive impact that the site and location have on the community," said Nadia Bilynsky, principal, MPN Realty.
They made it happen: Sarah Finney Miller and Michael Adams, senior vice presidents, NAI Summit; Collin Holben, associate, NAI Summit.