PHILADELPHIA, PA - Castle Rock Equity 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 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 tier 1 US cities with intrinsic historical and sustainable value. The ICON is an amazing property, in that its historical design, location and story makes it a great addition to 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.” says Judah L. Angster Esq., CEO of Castle Rock Equity Group.
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 1 markets across the continental US. Castle Rock is looking to leverage their proven track record in closing complex transactions to secure new acquisitions of intricate opportunities with high return potential.
"Closing the deal together with Castle Rock Equity Group and working with their team has been an absolute pleasure. At Divvone we pride ourselves in seeking out the best deals and collectively closing complex transactions. The Historical Tax Credit placed this deal levels above the rest and raised the barrier to entry for the unqualified. As my team and I worked through the approval process with PNC, holder of the HTC, we developed a strategy to seek out more assets with similar barriers, which opens up our field.” Said David Kahan CEO of Divvone Equity Group.
“Castle Rock Equity Group forged a strong relationship with Divvone Equity Group and is looking forward to working on many more transactions together,” added Angster.