Brooklyn-based Heights Advisors has obtained $24 million in financing for the acquisition and redevelopment of West Philadelphia High School. Located at 4700 Walnut St., near University City, the site takes up an entire city block. Built in 1911, the 442,200 square-foot, four-story building, will be converted into a 298-unit multifamily community. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was Philadelphia’s first secondary school. The financing closed as a Section 47 Historic Tax Credit deal, with a three-year adjustable LIBOR interest-only loan plus 3.75 percent. Colliers International Capital Markets Kristopher Wood and John Banas, both senior vice presidents/directors in the Philadelphia office, arranged the loan on behalf of the developer.
“The borrower wanted to purchase and reposition the former school located in West Philadelphia near University City,” Kristopher Wood said in prepared remarks. “Getting a construction loan was challenging because this was the first development the New York developer had done in Philadelphia, and many thought the location was not ready for 298 new apartments.”
