The large 12-story factory building located at 2200 Arch St. that has stood vacant for over 20 years is finally scheduled to get a facelift.
A University City-based realtor and construction company Orens Brothers Real Estate, Inc. purchased the property in mid-February with the intention of converting the eyesore into loft-style condominiums.
The 350,000-square-foot building was sold to Orens Brothers for $12 million by its previous longtime owner, realtor Paul Profeta.
The project is expected to be a large one -- $20 million for renovations on top of the purchase price and a two- to three-year construction timetable.
"By the end of the year, the exterior facade of the building will be replaced," said Scott Orens, a partner in the development company. "It will be a massive improvement over what is there currently. And everyone will know it's no longer a vacant or abandoned building."
With the increased demand for modern urban housing, many similar projects across the city have taken place or are in the process of being planned for the near future.
"The building is in a truly fantastic location," Orens said. "We have 80 out of 176 [condominiums] already reserved. That's without any real marketing, just word of mouth."
The conversion project is expected to yield a total of 176 loft-style condominiums. The bottom floor of the building is expected to be utilized as commercial space.
The New York-style lofts are planned to have no defined bedrooms, instead creating large open space. The exposed deck work and utilities mimicking a factory setting alongside modern amenities like marble or granite kitchens and bathrooms will "provide a real juxtaposition between the old and the new," Orens said.
The company does not believe it will have a problem with demand.
"I count on the demographics of the age more than anything," said Jon Orens, Scott's brother and partner in the firm, adding that many baby boomers are moving in from the suburbs now that their kids have grown up.
Therefore, some see the urban residential market boom to be temporary.
"Everyone worries about the market falling apart," Jon Orens said. "But we are willing to bet over $30 million -- the cost of the purchase and rehab of the project -- that the market will continue for at least ... the next two or three years."
This is just one of the conversion projects in which the Orens brothers have been involved. They also renovated the Old Shoe Factory building on North 12th Street and another building on 10th and Arch streets.
But the involvement with Center City real estate has been the company's focus only since 1991.
Before that point, the Orens brothers were involved with the renovation and rental of residential properties to graduates and undergraduates in University City.
"We expanded because the market was drying up in the early '90s," Jon Orens said, "into real estate brokerage, property management, and general contracting and development."
