East Market Announces New Office Tenant, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson - Award-Winning Architecture Firm

U.S. Apple flagship store architects connect with the office building's open, modern design and become newest tenant at 34 South 11th Street

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East Market

Jul 13, 2016, 02:00 ET

PHILADELPHIA, July 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- East Market's reputation as the place in Philadelphia for creatives and innovators continues to grow. Today, National Real Estate Development and SSH Real Estate announced that national, award-winning architecture firm, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) will lease 18,525 square feet of space at 34 South 11^th Street. With offices across the country, BCJ will soon call East Market's contemporary office building its Philadelphia home. The firm's nationally renowned work includes the Liberty Bell Center on Independence Mall and U.S. flagship stores for Apple – such as the New York City Fifth Avenue cube.

"Having already welcomed Design Within Reach and The Design Center to East Market, the addition of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson further establishes this project as a long awaited design hub in the heart of Philadelphia," said Daniel Killinger, managing director of development for National Real Estate Development. "The vision for this building was to make a place where Philadelphia's most creative companies would be drawn to the open loft-like space. We're thrilled that BCJ is going to be designing their next generation of award-winning buildings from their new home at East Market."

"Bohlin Cywinski Jackson's decision to move East of Broad Street underscores the revitalization and renewed interest in this section of the city," said Peter Soens, a partner at SSH Real Estate, which is part of the East Market ownership team and serves as office leasing broker for the building. "In particular, the vibrancy of the East Market neighborhood, its convenient access to transportation and the premier creative office building in Center City brings a new and highly desired experience for Philadelphia companies and employees."

Noted for elegant and humane designs ranging from modest houses to corporate buildings, BCJ will move its current Philadelphia office from 123 South Broad Street to East Market (34 South 11^th Street). The 18,525 square feet space located on the sixth floor (Suite 600) will be customized to BCJ's individual needs and styled in an open office concept with a modern, warehouse feel.

"Design is key to us as architects, and we were excited to have found this unique opportunity at East Market," said Tom Kirk from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. "The open, industrial concept at East Market is something that matches our own design tendencies – and it's something that we would otherwise need to go beyond Center City to find. With this prime location, extraordinary daylight, and exposed structure, we are excited to move into the new space in a neighborhood that offers so much more than a place to work."

With this announcement, East Market's 34 South 11^th Street building is nearly 50 percent leased. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson joins MOM's Organic Market, set to open on the ground floor this fall, as well as Philadelphia's premier resource for the interior design trade, The Design Center, which plans to open its doors in December 2016. Authentic modern furniture retailer Design Within Reach will open across the street in early 2017. BCJ was represented in this lease agreement by Matthew Frederick of PernaFrederick, while Pete Soens of SSH Real Estate represented the project. Wells Fargo is providing the construction financing for 34 South 11^th Street.

East Market, Philadelphia's transformative mixed-use development, is leading the resurgence of activity east of Broad Street. The first phase of the project, encompassing 34 South 11^th Street and additional buildings along Market and Ludlow Streets, will be completed by the spring of 2017. This will include 200,000 square feet of open, customizable office space, alongside 322 modern residential units and 130,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

About Bohlin Cywinski Jackson:

Founded in 1965, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is a national architecture practice noted for elegant and humane design, ranging from modest houses to large academic, civic, cultural and corporate buildings. To date, the firm has received more than 625 regional, national and international awards for design, including three AIA Top Ten Green Project Awards and the AIA Architecture Firm Award. In 2010, Founding Principal Peter Bohlin was awarded the AIA Gold Medal, the highest honor an individual architect can receive. The firm is well-known for its work with Apple, designing stores such as the iconic Fifth Avenue cube in New York City and flagship stores worldwide. The practice has also designed the Liberty Bell Center on Independence Mall, the commercial building on 15^th and Walnut Streets, and the New College House at the University of Pennsylvania, set to open in the Fall of 2016. For more information please visit BCJ.com.

About SSH Real Estate

SSH Real Estate is one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the Philadelphia region. Located in Center City Philadelphia since 1950, the firm is comprised of 75 professionals offering a full service approach in Brokerage, Property Management and Investments. SSH Real Estate manages 40 buildings totaling 6 million square feet and has ownership interest in 9 office buildings totaling 2.1 million square feet. For more information, visit www.sshrealestate.com.

About East Market:

East Market, a pedestrian oriented development in the heart of Philadelphia, will revitalize an entire city block, from Market to Chestnut, 11^th to 12^thStreets. This mixed-used project will blend urban and artisanal shopping and dining experiences with contemporary work and living spaces. The project is owned by National Real Estate Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered asset management advisor investing in major U.S. urban markets and subsidiary of the National Electrical Benefit Fund; Joss Realty Partners, a New York-based private real estate investment firm; Young Capital LLC, a Philadelphia-based real estate investment firm affiliated with Classic Management, Inc.; and SSH Real Estate, one of the largest privately held commercial real estate companies in the Greater Philadelphia Region. East Market is being developed by National Real Estate Development, LLC. For more information, please visit www.eastmarketphilly.com or email at [email protected]