JLL Secures $96M for Philadelphia Office Tower

JLL, Chicago, secured $96 million for Taconic Capital Advisors and Cohen Equities to acquire 801 Market Street, a 695,000-square-foot office tower in Philadelphia’s Market East submarket.

Deutsche Bank and Square Mile provided the financing package.

JLL Executive Vice President Adam Schwartz, Managing Directors Aaron Appel and Jonathan Schwartz and Senior Vice President Chad Orcutt led the debt-placement team.

Adam Schwartz said the loan allowed the Taconic Capital Advisors-Cohen Equities joint venture to finance the entire acquisition of the asset’s stabilized portion and also refinance the building’s value-add portion. “It was an easy story to sell, but a very tough one to execute,” he noted.

Matt Legge, who led Cohen Equities’ financing and acquisition efforts, noted from a structuring perspective, the acquisition generally leads and the financing follows. “In this case that was inverted, as the financing structure that our JLL team devised was what kicked the whole process off and compelled us to pursue the transaction in the first place, he said.

Built in 1931 and renovated in 2001, 801 Market Street is currently 37 percent occupied by two long-term tenants, Community Behavioral Health and the Government Services Administration. The sponsors used the financing to purchase the property’s office components on floors three through six, so they now own the building’s entire office portion. They acquired floors seven through 13 in November. The building’s first two floors are being redeveloped as part of Fashion District Philadelphia, a $325 million venture between Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Macerich to re-develop three city blocks into the largest cohesive retail project in downtown Philadelphia.

Adam Schwartz said 801 Market Street provides is within walking distance of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and more than $1 billion of retail, multifamily and office development.