Building Description

Type: Office – Class B          Size: 35,080 RSF

Year Built: 1923, with renovations in 1980’s and early 2000’s.

Location: Allentown CBD.

Description: East Penn Place is a multi-tenant, 3½ & 5 story building (2 buildings connected) located in downtown Allentown at 8th & Hamilton Streets.  It is a classic urban designed office building with beautiful brick face and large window lines.

Case Study: Dunn Twiggar acquired this property in January 2007. The building is currently 85% leased to a mix of office and retail tenants whose rental rates are significantly below market. Our value-add strategy will be to operate the building “as-is” for approximately 3 years and redevelop it in years 4 & 5.  Our plan is to upgrade and improve the building’s finishes and mechanical systems and bring the rental rates to at or above market. 

Some positive points for this project are:

• Purchase Price: East Penn Place was purchased at a price that was well below replacement cost.
• Cash Flow: The property will have positive cash flow.
• The Location: While downtown Allentown has yet to make a full recovery, this block of Hamilton Street is in the center of all the new redevelopment.  Two new Class A office buildings, 90,000 sf and 76,000 sf, were just completed, PennDot moved its regional offices to the area and 3 new restaurants are scheduled to open in the next year.
• Floor Plates: The building floor plates are small, which allows for small full floor users or smaller multi-tenant users, which is the demand in the Lehigh Valley office market.
• Parking: There is one public parking deck and surface lot on the same block and 4 other lots within 5 blocks.