The Philadelphia Business Journal (subscription) reported that the 300 Delaware Avenue high-rise office building is being studied for a possible conversion to apartments.
Brandywine Realty Trust CEO Jerry Sweeney told the business journal that the Philadelphia company is considering converting the 17-story structure to part-office-part residential or full residential.
Brandywine is looking at similar conversions outside of Philadelphia within its portfolio, which includes buildings in the Delaware Valley, Washington, DC, and Austin, Texas.
300 Delaware is a 300,000-square-foot office building that is 50% occupied and is often classified as a Class B office building. However, tenants have been moving up to Class A space and, even then, have reduced their footprint.
Downtown Wilmington has seen a high office vacancy rate dating back to the pre-Covid period. The exit of Bank of America and DuPont to the suburbs and a downsizing of office space at Capital One contributed to the high vacancy rate. The high rate led to the demolition of one office building a short walk from 300 Delaware. Another building became a hotel.
Law firms that populated 300 Delaware in the past still lease space but tend to move to newer buildings when leases end.
Buccini/Pollin Group, the biggest player downtown, is converting the former DuPont office campus into Market West, a mixed-use project that includes apartments. It has done the same with buildings up and down Market Street, adding new mid and high-rise apartments. Steel has gone up on The Press, a Buccini/Pollin apartment building at the former site of the News Journal.
The conversions and new construction have brought new residents to downtown, along with more restaurants and other amenities.
