Philadelphia Business Journal - Friday, September 9, 2005

South Street the latest site for condominium development http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2005/09/12/newscolumn4.html

One of the latest condominium projects to emerge from Philadelphia developers' seemingly insatiable appetite to build new housing in the city is on South Street.

Rimas Properties, a local developer, plans to break ground next month on a $30 million, six-story building that will house 72 condos and 11,000 square feet of retail space at 1326-52 South St. The condos will range from 800 square feet to 2,500 square feet and will be priced between $259,000 and $1.2 million for the larger units.

The half-acre site currently serves as a surface lot for Central Parking, which will be vacating this month, said Samir Benakmoume of Rimas. Not deterred by the abundance of other condo developments under way, or in the pipeline, in the city, he believes his project offers a great location.

"You're really in the middle of town without all of the noise and traffic of downtown," said Benakmoume, who noted that "a lot" of the units have already been pre-sold. Rimas bought the site last year for $2.5 million.

The fine print

A 29,000-square-foot office building at 551 W. Lancaster Ave. in Haverford sold for $7.3 million. The last time the building traded in 2001 it sold for $4.2 million. The seller in the latest transaction was ZSC Associates. The buyer's name wasn't disclosed. The building once served as the regional headquarters for Merit Oil before it was sold four years ago. It's currently occupied by Staffing Plus, among other tenants. Fidelity Commercial arranged the transaction ... A 3,000-square-foot office building at 2232 DeKalb Pike, East Norriton, sold to Old Guard Mortgage, a Lancaster firm, which will expand its presence locally. Acquisition and improvement costs stand at $500,000. Aptcor Commercial handled the sale ... Go Athletics leased 10,400 square feet at One Bala Plaza in Bala Cynwyd. The health maintenance and fitness company relocated from 2,000 square feet in Ardmore. A portion of the space it leased at One Bala has previously been occupied by Body Builders, a physical fitness entity that was recently acquired by Go Athletics. Beacon Commercial arranged the lease.