When I arrived at the Philadelphia Business Journal in August 1999, I remember introducing myself over the phone to a veteran office broker from South Jersey who then began to provide me with some basic information on the market.
As the conversation went on, the broker stopped and said to me, “You know we measure office space by the square foot?”
No. I didn’t.
I wrote “square foot” down so I could do my homework. Then he asked me if I knew what a REIT was. Then came cap rates. I was overwhelmed.
So began my journey as the real estate and economic development reporter for the Business Journal. Now, after 23 years in that role and three decades as a newspaper reporter, I am moving on to try something new and certain to be overwhelmed all over again.
I can’t leave without thanking my colleagues, who consistently and relentlessly do great journalism day in and day out. They made me a better reporter and were valuable, reliable support professionally and personally.
I need to thank those in the real estate and business community who were so generous and gracious in helping me learn the ins and outs of commercial and residential real estate. You trusted me with scoops and confidential information; made sure I didn’t go too far astray in the wrong direction on a story and guided me into the right direction on others; responded to calls to provide context for breaking news or trend pieces; and understood I was doing my job when I ran with a story they would have rather had left untold.
The work that resulted captured a moment in time in Philadelphia and the region’s economy as measured by what was happening in real estate, what got developed, and cycles such as the Great Recession and pandemic that it endured.
There are some favorites. One that tops the list was about a coin toss that determined the fate of a $12 million construction bid. Another involved writing about three, secret residential units built in the Comcast Technology Center. And then there was the relocation of Dow Chemical Co. to Collegeville from Spring House. That story came by way of a tip from a painting contractor making casual small talk with John George, one of my colleagues.
While interviewing greats such as Willard Rouse and Larry Silverstein was a thrill, meeting Charlie Manuel remains among the highlights of my career. I will always have a soft spot for Charlie. We come from the same rural area of Virginia.
There are a few stories I am not going to be able to tell because I ran out of time and one involves the lengths buyers and sellers of commercial real estate are going through to evade paying real estate transfer taxes. Deeds and other documents filed with counties show the acrobatics being implemented to avoid paying these real estate taxes.
As with many of the stories I have covered over the years, investors skirting around paying taxes came from a trusted source. To that source and the others who helped me along the way, I am forever indebted. Thank you.
© 2022 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 1, 2021) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated July 1, 2022). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.
About Author
