PHILADELPHIA, PA - Castle Rock Equity today announced it has purchased the ICON building at 1616 Walnut Street in Philadelphia’s City Center neighborhood for $112 million.
The 25-story art deco tower, part of the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed in 1929 as an office building and is characterized by aluminum details, intricate woodwork, an ornate lobby and magnificent entry. Its previous owner completed a more than $60 million transformation in 2014, converting the 206-unit building to residential use.
Modern renovations such as the Sky Deck rooftop terrace, state of the art wellness center, club level, electric car charging stations, car and bike share programs, and a pet grooming station compliment the property’s old world charm with all of the conveniences for today’s urban living.
“Castle Rock’s focus is to acquire A+ Assets in major US cities with intrinsic historical and sustainable value. The ICON is an amazing property, in that its historical design, location and story make it a great asset for our portfolio until the end of time. We feel privileged to own a building of such significance and look forward to adding more properties of equal magnitude to our portfolio,” said Judah L. Angster Esq., CEO of Castle Rock Equity Group.
“We are thrilled to be managing a building that has been a true ‘Icon’ to Philadelphia for the last 80 years,” said Jessica Scully, President of Scully Company. “ICON combines historic architecture with sleek modern finishes and exceptional amenities. The Well Signature Units, and exclusive perks associated with them, are the perfect blend of luxury and health conscious living, an offering unique to ICON in Philadelphia. Our residents will experience the best lifestyle Philly has to offer.”
The ICON building represents a foray into a new round of acquisitions for Castle Rock marking the beginning of an effort to locate and acquire similar A+ assets in tier one markets across the continental US. Castle Rock is looking to leverage its proven track record in closing complex transactions to secure new acquisitions of intricate opportunities with high return potential.
Berkadia Commercial Mortgage financed the $112 million acquisition of The ICON on behalf of Castle Rock. Meridian Capital brought the deal to market and, after a very competitive bidding process, Yuri Kletsman of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage won the financing assignment for this best-in-class asset by providing extremely competitive terms through its Fannie Mae DUS lending platform. The financing incorporated the Historic Tax Credits and Real Estate Tax Pilot which the property benefits from.
“Castle Rock Equity Group forged a strong relationship with Berkadia and is looking forward to working on many more transactions together," said Yuri Kletsman, Managing Director of Berkadia.