Massive Office Property Adjacent to PHL to Be Part of Expansion?

Image via Amerimar Enterprises website

There’s no official mention of this being part of the big expansion project slated for the Philadelphia International Airport (Automated. People. Mover. Enough said!), but it has piqued our interest as there’s the possibility that it might be.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Natalie Kostelni, a bill that would pave the way for the city to buy the International Plaza property adjacent to the airport has been introduced to City Council. Extra space means extra new airport stuff, right?

Looks like it. Kostelni has this to say about the potential nature of the relationship between PHL and its 27-acre neighbor, an Amerimar Enterprises-owned tract consisting of a two-building office complex with a breezeway and parking:

It is assumed the property would go toward the eventual expansion of the Philadelphia International Airport. The airport has eyed the property for years for possible runway expansion or even for cargo operations.

We emphasized assume, since the bill does not name-drop the airport even once. But as she points out, “there is little other reason Philadelphia would acquire the property.” Indeed, back in 1999, she writes, the airport, which is owned by the city, was on the verge of striking a $90 million deal for the site, but it never happened.

Kostelni adds that as the bill is written, the site would “enter into a master lease with the  Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development” after being acquired by the city. PAID would then sublease parts of it “to tenants under their existing leases or future lease,” presumably while the 12-15 year expansion project is being planned.

Bill introduced to clear way for Philadelphia Airport expansion [Philadelphia Business Journal]