Monthly Archives: December 2014

The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority has reached a settlement with a property owner over an eminent domain dispute. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

The course of true love and the sale of Revel Casino may never run smooth. With Brookfield US Holdings LLC officially out of the running as buyer of the Atlantic City complex — we wrote about the deal’s demise in our Nov. 21 post — the sellers turned to runner-up bidder Glenn Straub. Straub, however, has not backed off his belief that the initial auction was unfair.

Anyone who has bought or sold a house will probably remember that they and the other party drew up a purchase agreement at some point in the proceedings. In commercial real estate, purchase agreements are also commonly used as a “road map” to direct the parties to closing. A well-made purchase agreement can avoid future problems by making each parties obligations clear, so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding.

Before developer Edgar Scott III’s proposal went before the Radnor Board of Commissioners for approval, a group of residents moved to block the project for an unusual and perhaps unexpected reason. The Ardrossan Farm property apparently has historical significance. The residents want plans to pause while archaeologists assess just how significant the site is.

You cannot swing a quitclaim deed in Philadelphia without hitting something with historical significance. Developers and lawmakers often find themselves at loggerheads with preservations when it comes to altering or razing a building from the Revolutionary War or an inn where George Washington stopped for a beer. Ardrossan Farm is no exception.

The dispute over development of the Ardrossan Farm in Radnor was in the news recently. It seems the township’s Board of Commissioners has approved the subdivision plan, though residents continue to question both the process and the plan.

Proper financing is remarkably important for real estate development projects. Without proper financing, such a project may fall apart before it really gets off of the ground. Thus, the decision of what to do in regards to financing is among one of the more important decisions when it comes to a real estate development project. 

Generally, a property owner cannot simply do whatever they want with their property. This is because there are regulations in place regarding property use. In Philadelphia, one of the sources of such regulations is the Philadelphia Zoning Code.