C&W Extends Northeast Reach, Intensifying Activity in Regional Office

NEW YORK CITY-Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s president of US operations Bruce E. Mosler announced from the company’s headquarters here that there is heightened focus on expanding the company’s name brand recognition in the Northeast Corridor. Yesterday, John P. Derham was appointed senior managing direct and branch manager of the Philadelphia office. Also, C&W has secured two major transactions through this office.

Cushman & Wakefield of Pennsylvania Inc. was named the new property manager of 1608 Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia earlier this week. Totaling 240,000 sf and 19 floors, the building was cataloged in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Constructed in 1929, it was designed by Philadelphia’s Tilden, Register & Pepper. Once the headquarters of Sun Oil Co., in 1981 it was renovated once vacated and the 19th floor offices of Philadelphia’s famous Pew family were restored.

Managing a property on Walnut Street in Philadelphia is a critical step in advancing the company recognition there and in the mid-Atlantic to Northeast region. Walnut Street is Philadelphia’s premier restaurant and shopping area with award winning, very pricey dining options such as Le Bec Fin, Brasserie Perrier, Striped Bass, Circa and Susana Foo. Rittenhouse Square begins at the corner of Walnut Street and 18th Street with its expensive hotels that have hosted Bruce Willis and Oprah Winfrey while filming in the city, as well as high-end shops and plastic surgeons.

The sale of 1800 and 1880 John F. Kennedy Boulevard is also a major notch on C&W’s belt. Robert Fahey, Lizann McGowan and James Vesey of the Financial Services Group in the Philadelphia branch represented the seller, 1800/1880 JFK Joint Venture. JFK Joint is a partnership between Verizon Properties and Metropolitan Life. The new owner is Rahway, NJ-based Denholtz Associates.

The two class-A buildings are each 20 stories high and total 474,000 sf of office space. In the last six months, the group has sold seven office towers there. Tenants currently leasing these buildings are the law firm Post & Schell, Insignia/ESG, AIG Insurance and a number of other law firms.

John Derham, the new branch manager, will lead all of C&W’s operations in Philadelphia, including commercial and industrial brokerage, financial services and asset services. He comes to the office from C&W’s Asset Services. He will be replacing Char Posey, who is leaving the real estate industry. His Philadelphia experience includes Drinker Biddle & Reath and Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley leases at One Logan Square, building renovations at 1650 Arch St. and the recent acquisition of One Liberty place for Sunbelt Management.