Diligence Capital Advisors Arranges Acquisition to Construction Loan for 37 Unit, Mixed-Use Project in South Kensington

Jan 18, 2020

37 Residential Apartments Over Retail Coming to 7th Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA - Jan. 18, 2020 - PRLog -- Diligence Capital Advisors is pleased to announce that it has sourced, negotiated and closed an acquisition to construction loan for a 37 Unit, Mixed-Used Development Project located at 629-633 West Girard Avenue in the South Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia. Diligence Capital Advisors represented the real estate joint venture R+M Development on the transaction consisting of prominent Philadelphia-based developers Michael Tester, the owner of Tester Construction Group and Rickey Biddle, the owner of MK Management Group (Philadelphia), which owns or manages over 1,300 beds in the Temple University Off-Campus section of Philadelphia. The Tester-Biddle R+M Development joint venture has developed over 20 apartments projects together in Philadelphia consisting of 200+ units. Their new development at 629-633 West Girard marks the joint venture's first foray into the South Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.

"We have been looking to enter the South Kensington neighborhood for a little while now. 629-633 West Girard emerged as the perfect site for a forward-thinking, impactful project that I knew my outfit could successfully build. I am extremely excited about this development project," said Michael Tester, co-developer of the project.

"Girard Avenue has been waiting for a new mixed-use project like this. The site being situated at the confluence of the storied Northern Liberties neighborhood and the burgeoning South Kensington neighborhood made it particularity attractive to our partnership," said Rickey Biddle, co-developer of the project.

The closing of the acquisition of the property occurred on Friday January 17, 2020. The Tester/Biddle R+M Development joint venture will begin construction in the Spring of 2020 and will deliver the project in the 4th quarter of 2021.

"This project is going to be wildly successful. The Easterly Portion of The Girard Avenue Commercial Corridor between 8th Street and Frankford Avenue is brimming with developable potential. The site's unique shape provides ingress on both Girard Avenue and 7th Street and will attract a superior retailer wanting to benefit from the over 18,000 vehicles that pass by this intersection every day. What will follow is sustained residential demand feeding off the retail and convenient site layout. Combine all that with a development team that collectively owns two of Philadelphia's leading construction and property management companies and you have all the ingredients for a grand-slam deal," said Jared Cobert, Managing Partner of Diligence Capital Advisors.

Financing was provided by David Segal of TriState Capital Bank.

Kate Sibel and Hunter S. Kintzing of Rittenhouse Law, LLC (Philadelphia) represented Tri-State Capital Bank on the transaction.

Joseph Rocco and Zack Migeot of Campbell Rocco Law (King of Prussia, PA) represented the Tester/Biddle joint venture on the transaction.

About Tester Construction Group. For more information on Tester Construction Group, visit https://testerconstruction.com/

About MK Management Group. For more information on MK Management Group, visit https://www.mkmgmtgroup.com.

About Diligence Capital Advisors. Diligence Capital Advisors is a Capital Solutions Firm based in Haddonfield, New Jersey. The principals of Diligence Capital Advisors have sourced and/or closed senior debt, mezz debt, JV equity and preferred equity deals valued over 2 billion dollars. If you have a real estate project in the Philadelphia or New Jersey market that requires debt or equity, contact Diligence Capital Advisors at http://www.DiligenceCapitalAdvisors.com