Regardless of the fact that the
Metro Commercial Real Estate organization -- which bills itself as "the Philadelphia region's leading full-service real estate company" -- has been doing business in the area out of its Conshohocken and Mount Laurel, N.J., offices for more than two decades, it was nevertheless considered big news in the commercial development community when Metro recently announced the arrival of a third office, this one in Center City.
Located in the historic
Wachovia Building (now the Wells Fargo Building) at 123 South Broad Street, Metro president Steven H. Gartner says the company's new location is intended to "bring our experience to the heart of Philadelphia. We have been a significant player here for the past 25 years," he adds, "and now we will have the team on the ground to more capably serve our growing client base."
Over the past few weeks, in fact, Metro has been responsible for inking deals that have resulted in three new Center City retail shops. A fourth, much larger deal is currently in the works on the southeast corner of 15th and Walnut streets, where Metro is leasing multi-level properties with 45,000 square feet of potential retail; that project is expected to be complete in mid-2013.
The store that will almost certainly generate the most excitement locally, however, is the one that's scheduled to open at the end of this year.
Jack Wills is the name of the retailer -- it offers preppy, British-influenced men's and women's apparel (think Vampire Weekend-meets-J.Crew) -- and it currently operates just four other U.S. locations, one each in Boston, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and New Haven, Conn.
Metro was also responsible for the new
Krispy Kreme shop that's now open at 1535 Chestnut Street, as well as the nearby new flagship location of
The Children's Place.
Source: Amy H. Orons, Metro Commercial Real Estate
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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