January 14, 2015
Google/StreetView
Keswick Village in Glenside, and its anchor, the Keswick Theatre.
Keswick Village in Glenside, Montgomery County, has a new owner after it was sold for $6.2 million, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The mixed-use development, previously owned by Arasu Rajaratnam, a Philadelphia-area real-estate investor, was purchased by Franklin Residential through a bankruptcy court action. Lisa Silveri of Agency Real Estate Partners assisted in the transaction.
The historic village is home to Keswick Theatre, a longtime venue that first opened in 1928 and was restored in 1988. The complex, which will be rebranded as Keswick Commons, also consists of a Susquehanna bank and two building structures that house apartments and retail stores.
Franklin Residential plans to invest nearly $2 million in renovations of the existing retail and residential spaces, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
Two leases are out that have the potential to fill much of the vacant retail space.
The second phase involves constructing 65 to 80 age-restricted apartments on top of two to three stories of parking. That estimated $14 million project still needs to go through the local approval process and likely won't get underway for a couple of years.
Franklin Residential is operated by Steve Balin and his two partners, Justin Turner and Steve Wennik. Balin is the son of Philadelphia real-estate investor and developer Ken Balin of AMC Delancey.
