Liberty Property Trust & Parkway Corporation Break Ground on Pennsylvania Medicine at Washington Square

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Property Trust, in joint partnership with Parkway Corporation, today announced it will develop a LEED certified, high-rise building atop an existing parking structure that will climb 260 feet above the southwest corner of 8th and Walnut Streets for Pennsylvania Medicine. The new building will be called Pennsylvania Medicine at Washington Square.

Pennsylvania Medicine has signed a 20 year lease for the 153,242 square foot building. Liberty's investment in the project will be $49.6 million and Pennsylvania Medicine will invest $22 million in the interior fit-out. The building is scheduled to open late in the summer of 2013.

"We started 2011 by breaking ground for two sustainable flex buildings, followed that with groundbreakings for sustainable office buildings for both GlaxoSmithKline and Iroko Pharmaceuticals – all in the Navy Yard – and are today continuing the momentum with something equally exciting: a high performance, state-of-the-art medical high-rise in the midst of Center City," said William P. Hankowsky, chairman and CEO, Liberty Property Trust. "Liberty and Pennsylvania Medicine have a long history in Philadelphia and we are pleased to have this opportunity to bring what in total will be our ninth sustainable building in the City online for such a valued tenant."

Penn Medicine Washington Square (PMWS) will be one of the largest capital projects in the health network's 260 year history. It will house outpatient services for Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH) – the nation's first –  founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond.

The project will bring an estimated 650 new construction jobs to the City of Philadelphia. The general contractor is LF Driscoll and the architect is Ballinger. It is being constructed over an existing  seven-story parking garage in order to maintain the integrity of the historic city grid of Washington Square West, which is important to community residents. The building itself will feature north and south facing curtain walls of glass along with terracotta-colored metal panels. The tone and shade are designed to blend well with the surrounding, historic architecture as well as enliven the cityscape.

"In 1984, Parkway developed the parking structure at this particular corner with an eye toward further development," said Joseph S. Zuritsky, Chairman and CEO, Parkway Corporation. "The structure was designed to serve as a base for a high rise building, and we can't think of a better project than the expansion of Pennsylvania Hospital. This project is Parkway's fourth ground-up development project in Center City in the last three years."

Pennsylvania Hospital to Consolidate Facilities from Nine Locations In the New PMWS Building

Initially founded to care for the "sick-poor and insane of Philadelphia," PAH is now known for its general and specialty surgical services, including; women's health, obstetrics and gynecology (especially high-risk maternal and fetal services), neonatology, orthopaedics, vascular medicine and surgery; neurology and neurosurgery; otorhinolaryngology, and behavioral health. PAH also has expanding programs for cancer, cardiovascular medicine, and groundbreaking bloodless medical and surgical treatments. The hospital has 519 licensed inpatient beds and over 23,000 inpatient admissions and 111,000 outpatient visits each year, including approximately 5,000 births.

In response to an increasing need for new clinical care facilities the new facilities will be dedicated to outpatient care, consolidating medical practices and hospital departments currently housed in nine different buildings surrounding the hospital. This opportunity will help consolidate practices and promote interdisciplinary care, joining in one location departments and divisions such as Orthopaedic Oncology, Foot & Ankle Surgery, Urology, Otorhinolaryngology, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Infectious Diseases, Endocrinology, General Internal Medicine and some diagnostic patient services.

Because the campus of PAH is land-locked in a heavily residential area of Philadelphia, it was determined that constructing a new building on the original PAH campus was not possible.

Faculty and employee input is being encouraged for every step in the way of planning the new PMWS facility to help design a building conducive to the most effective delivery of health care and to create the most ideal working environment.

About Liberty Property Trust

Headquartered in Malvern, PA, Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty's 78 million square foot portfolio includes nearly 700 properties which provide office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 1,900 tenants.  For more information visit www.libertyproperty.com.

SOURCE Liberty Property Trust