State’s top 10 real estate deals in 2018

Rommel Harley-Davidson, a dealership and restaurant near New Castle, sold for $7.6 million. Two buildings comprising 40,000 square feet of space were in the deal.

DuPont Country Club, a roadside attraction and two Greenville shopping centers were among the 10 priciest real estate deals in the first half of 2018, according to CBRE.

Many of the out-of-state buyers and international investors who visited Delaware to size up the market asked if there were more properties available, one real estate expert said.

“There’s a lot of money in the market chasing real estate, and that’s a good thing,” said John Kaczowka, the CBRE senior vice president who focuses on Delaware. “There’s a couple projects now on the market that brought in buyers from out-of-state and international buyers. They were saying, “˜OK, I like this one. Do you have others?'”

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Competition is driving up Delaware prices, especially in segments where properties are scarce.

“The multi-family market is on fire,” he said. “The industrial market is going gangbusters. The retail sector – that’s going super strong. The office market is now starting to pick up, so that’s headed in the right direction. In a nutshell, things are all trending in an upward direction.”

From iconic retail sites to sprawling shopping centers, here are the biggest deals to take place in the first half of 2018.

Greenville Crossing

One Greenville Crossing and Two Greenville Crossing changed hands for $66 million. The two upscale shopping centers are side-by-side on tony Kennett Pike.

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Richard N. Kappler II bought One Greenville Crossing – the iconic strip center that housed Janssen’s Market from 1952 to 2007, and Two Greenville Crossing, the current home of Purebread Deli, Fidelity Investments and Sherif Zaki Salon.The seller of record was EBD Realty.

Blackstone bought two warehouse properties in Newark’s Interchange Business Park for $22.1 million.

Interchange Business Park

Blackstone, the largest private equity real estate firm in the world, is the new owner of two warehouse properties in Newark’s Interchange Business Park. The seller was FRP Holdings. The properties, which totaled 306,221 square feet, sold for $22.1 million. Blackstone is known for purchasing well-located assets
at discounts, fixing them and selling them.

DuPont Country Club

The price for the in-family sale of the DuPont Country Club and neighboring Brantwyn Estate was not disclosed, but showings of the 525-acre club attracted serious interest from high-net-worth individuals, golf course operators and corporations not normally associated with county clubs, according to Club and Resort Business.

A local investment group that includes Ben duPont and Don Wirth, both club members and former DuPont execs, was the buyer. A spokesman said they will spend $18 million on improvements to “elevate this iconic club to its former glory.”

Dover apartment buildings

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Two adjacent multi-family properties in Dover sold for a total of $20 million. Anderson Vedic sold the 215-unit Alder Park Apartments at 51 Webbs Lane and the 96-unit Pine Grove Apartments at 255 Webb Road. The buyer is AJH Management, a private regional real estate management company. The two buildings are 95 percent occupied.

Investor Edward J. Welsh bought two midrise buildings in Edgemoor for $10.3 million.

Edgemoor apartment buildings

Investor Edward J. Welsh paid Allied Properties $10.3 million for the two mid-rise buildings that make up the 120-unit Las Casas Apartments in Edgemoor.

Harley attraction sells for $7.6 million

Dave Rommel, who owns several Harley-Davidson dealerships and six companies in industries as varied as engineering and hardware, got $7.6 million for the two buildings that housed his Rommel Harley-Davidson New Castle dealership and restaurant.

JSJ Properties bought the 40,000-square-foot retail space. Rommel did not return a call for details on the sale of the two bright orange-and-white Harley buildings motorists can see from major highways surrounding New Castle.

Walgreen’s in Milford

The one-story Walgreens building at 648 N.W. Front St. in Milford sold for $6.6 million. Thylan Associates, a New York real estate development company, purchased the 12,500-square-foot building from Columbia Property Investors. More than 10 years remain on Walgreen’s lease, according to LoopNet.

DuPont buys B.F. Rich site

DuPont paid $6.5 million for the defunct B.F. Rich window-and-door factory at 322 Ruthar Drive, east of Newark. DuPont will move it’s production operation for Kalrez, an engineered material used in sealing applications, to the facility.

Sobieski pays $4.9 million

Sobieski777, a limited liability company, paid Crescent Business Center, another LLC, $4.92 million for a 100,000-square-foot upgraded warehouse at 1325 Old Cooches Bridge Road in Diamond State Industrial Park in Newark.

Bob Evans building

One acronymic limited liability company sold the building that houses Bear’s Bob Evans to another. BE 1301 DE LLC paid BER R/E Inves I LLC $2.53 million for the 3,000-square-foot restaurant building at 1301 Governors Place.

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