Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Real Estate Law Blog

It has been a relatively decent year for commercial real estate in Philadelphia this year according to the Federal Reserve Board, and the latest numbers show that the year will finish by continuing its trend of modest gains for the city’s market.

When the franchise owner of Central Bark, a day care facility for – you guessed it – dogs went looking for financial help in relocating her small business she received support from an unlikely source. That source is an almost 55-year-old nonprofit economic development organization that has been linked to some of Philadelphia’s most ambitious building projects. We are referring to the Comcast Stadium and the repurposing of the Navy Yard, among others. The president of Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. doesn’t even have a dog.

Last week, ground was reportedly broken for a hotel at the new City Center. The completed project will be a 246-unit, all suites extended-stay hotel. The hotel, among other things, will include an indoor pool, a Wii room for video games, and 9,750 square feet of retail space at street level. In total, the project will cost around $60 million.

In the third quarter of 2011, the number of U.S. commercial property loans was the highest it has been since 2007, according to a recent report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. At the end of 2007, the Mortgage Bankers Association rating system ranked the number of commercial property loans at 275, and that number reached 138 by the end of September.