Monthly Archives: April 2014

As many Philadelphia residents are aware, Comcast is building a massive skyscraper in the city. The building, dubbed the Comcast Information and Technology Center will become the largest building in the United States that isn’t in New York or Chicago. The projected cost of this massive building is $1.2 billion and there will be plenty of offices and real estate created as a result of this building’s construction.

In January, we promised to continue to demystify real estate jargon. We came across a column recently that reminded us of the common and often confusing classification of office space. There are three basic levels — class A, B and C — and there is room in every market for each type of property. The differences can be subtle, but they are important.

We saw an article recently about a women’s prison in Manhattan, just a block or two away from the Hudson River. During Superstorm Sandy, the river swelled and flooded the buildings. There was enough damage to keep the prison from reopening. It is now up for sale.

We are talking about Maple Beach, a very small neighborhood of Bristol Township in Bucks County, and its residents’ concerns over a levee. The levee was constructed by a chemical company 80 years ago, and the company, now Dow Chemical Co., maintained its federal certification until recently. Dow has decided to let the certification lapse, and the residents of Maple Beach are not happy about that.

Maple Beach is a small community in Bucks County, a part of Bristol Township nestled against the Delaware River. One resident says his neighborhood is “heaven.” It is safe to say that his neighbors feel the same way. That is why they are determined to save their houses — all four of them.

Title Insurance is an important protection for both owners and buyers in real estate transactions. Title insurance, as the name suggests, insures the policy holder against financial loss stemming from defects in title to real property. Many times these title defects are hidden to those involved in a transaction. Examples include improper legal description of the property, forged signatures, falsification of records, and title being taken by the wrong person after an improperly probated will.

The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections has been trying to right itself since the fatal demolition accident in June. When that wall collapsed on the Salvation Army Thrift Store, city officials launched an investigation into L&I’s demolition permitting process and found more than a few flaws. A review of the department as a whole is underway; it should be in Mayor Michael Nutter’s hands in July (see our Nov. 1, 2013, post for more information).

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia broke ground last year on its new specialty care center in King of Prussia. The center has outgrown the space it has been occupying in two buildings, and expanding the space was not practicable. So, CHOP bought 10 acres of land in the Philly suburb and, literally, dug in to a new phase of the hospital’s expansion plan. When construction is completed, the 100,000-square-foot building will house all specialty care programs.