Natalie Kostelni – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
The owner of the sprawling former Budd Co. property in Philadelphia has paid roughly $15 million for 2450 W. Hunting Park Ave., a 275,000-square-foot building, and will fold it into the life sciences campus it is developing at the site.
The property was built in 1910 and originally used by Budd as offices and research and development. It has six acres, providing Plymouth with a total of nearly 50 acres of the former manufacturing campus.
“There was a hole in the heart of Hunting Park and we had a chance to put the Budd pieces back together again,” said Michael Davis, founding partner at Plymouth.
New York-based Plymouth Group bought in 2019 the property’s vacant 1.87 million square feet at an auction. Last year, Plymouth, backed by Centerbridge Partners, a New York private equity firm, announced it was going to rebrand the property as the Budd Campus and create upwards of 2.4 million square feet of lab and life sciences manufacturing space. About 750,000 square feet is under development and so far, no leases or tenants have been disclosed as taking space at the property.
“We’re not ready to announce any tenants,” said Joe Fetterman, a broker with Colliers who overseeing the leasing of the Budd Campus.
The addition of 2450 W. Hunting Park into the mix will provide tenants with another space option in addition to the lab and manufacturing space. “It gives us a chance to create an entire ecosystem,” Fetterman said.
The Budd Campus is among several properties being positioned for life sciences companies across the region. Specifically in Philadelphia, University City and the Philadelphia Navy Yard have attracted tenants and investment for the development of new life sciences buildings. Hilco Redevelopment Partners plans to dedicate some of the buildings at its expansive Bellwether District in Southwest Philadelphia to life sciences manufacturing and R&D.