O'Neill Begins a 65,558-SF Spec Office

VALLEY FORGE, PA-O’Neill Properties Group has broken ground for a 65,558-sf class A office building at 800 Adams Ave. in Valley Forge Corporate Center. It is the first new building to be constructed in the park in five years, and O’Neill is building it on spec.

The three-story building is expected to reach completion in April or May 2008, according to Jim Savard, SVP of office development for the King of Prussia-based firm. O’Neill also owns a 66,000-sf office building at 970 Rittenhouse Ave. in the park, which Savard says is 85% leased, and it developed and later sold 820 Adams Ave., which is next door to the new construction and served as its architectural blueprint.

Declining to disclose a construction cost, Savard says, “we keep that close to our vest, but we can come in at a better cost than a comparable build-to-suit. You can tell by the rate, it’s a class A property.” The rent rate is $24.50 per sf, “good value in this climate,” he tells GlobeSt.com pointing to rates starting at $32 per sf at a new building in nearby King of Prussia.

O’Neill is handling the leasing in house under the direction of Tim Dugas. Savard says negotiations are underway with one tenant for a full, 22,000-sf floor and two other companies for a comparable amount of space.

“The office buildings in this market are simply outdated in an area where there’s a high demand for new office space,” says Brian O’Neill, the company’s founder and chairman, in a statement. “We see Valley Forge as an area with tremendous potential.”