An entity affiliated with GLP Capital Partners of Santa Monica, California, paid $71.5 million for 2400 Weccacoe Ave., a warehouse in Philadelphia leased to Amazon.
GLP US Management II LLC bought the 283,000-square-foot building in November, according to Philadelphia property records. When the sale was announced, neither the sale price nor the buyer were disclosed and weren’t immediately available through public records.
The transaction involving 2400 Weccacoe comes up on property records under 2414 Weccacoe Ave. and included the sale of 10 Wolf St. and 2410 Weccacoe Ave., which are two smaller, adjacent parcels.
The bought the combined properties for $16.75 million in September 2019, according to tax records. It sits on 13.5 acres and was vacant at the time the Wharton partnership bought it.
Wharton launched a $10 million redevelopment of the former manufacturing building that included tearing out the rail beds, installing a new roof, leveling interior floors, and upgrading loading docks among other upgrades. It was rebranded as the SoPhi Logistics Center.
The renovations were part of the real estate company’s plans to seize on market forces catering to the growth of online retail. The property has access to Interstates 95 and 76, Philadelphia International Airport, PhilaPort and the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. It is also adjacent to Center City.
The plan worked. Amazon decided to lease the entire building in a deal first reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal last June. The property became one of several sites the online retailer has leased throughout the region in the last year as it continues to organize a network of smaller, last-mile distribution centers.
The successful conversion of the building from manufacturing space into industrial space all but erases its most recent past. The building was once occupied by Hyundai Rotem, a South Korean company. Rotem was awarded a $274 million SEPTA contract in 2006 to build rail cars for SEPTA and other transit agencies.
The company arrived in Philadelphia with great fanfare, promising jobs and a long tenure in the city. In April 2006, Pennsylvania officials had announced Hyundai Rotem would relocate its U.S. headquarters to Philadelphia from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Rotem ultimately produced defective rail cars for SEPTA, ceased operations in Philadelphia and closed the plant.
*Article courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal
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