University City / Philadelphia, PA — A distinctive, livable urban neighborhood of wide porches, tree-lined streets, restaurants and shops, University City is home to the latest Gebroe-Hammer Associates Philadelphia multi-family portfolio sale encompassing a total of 83 units and 20 properties sold for $14 million. Senior vice president Eli Rosen, the firm’s Philadelphia market specialist, represented the seller, West Village UCA, and procured the buyer, a private investor, in the transaction. The properties are all located in Powelton Village, in the heart of the neighborhood’s world-renowned education, medicine and technology hub. Situated on the 3200 block of Powelton Ave., 11 of the properties (3201-3027) are on the odd side of the street while two are even-numbered (3214 and 3220). The 3214-3218 Pearl St., properties feature three two-unit townhomes with patios and garages as well as an additional loft in two of the units. Across the street at 311-313 N. 33rd St., is a 24-unit building with an adjacent parking lot. In total, the portfolio is comprised of a mix of spacious studio and one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom layouts for a total of 144 beds. “Just across the street from Drexel University’s campus and Drexel Park, the properties were a major investment attraction because they offered a unique opportunity to acquire a collection of historically well-occupied multi-family assets within a one-city-block radius,” said Rosen, who noted the latest REIS quarterly data indicates asking rents for the submarket are up 3 percent. “University City’s Powelton Village is one of the most desirable districts in the city.” In addition to being extremely accessible via SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line and its No. 10 trolley, Powelton Village’s vibrant Lancaster Ave. commercial corridor is walkable, drivable and bicycle friendly. A bridge, which crosses the Schuylkill River, leads directly to the Fairmount/Art Museum District. “The city’s colleges, universities, employment centers, shopping, restaurants, bars and cultural venues are all within a few blocks’ radius of this highly sought-after district,” said Rosen. “As Philadelphia’s overall rents continue to inch upward – for total gains of 14.2% in the past year – investors are vigorously competing for all on- and off-market multi-family properties.” The Powelton Village portfolio sale comes on the heels of another recent University City trade arranged by Gebroe-Hammer involving 59 units. Rosen, along with Managing Director Joseph Brecher, exclusively represented the seller and procured the buyer in the $11.37 million sale. Gebroe-Hammer is the leading multi-family investment sales brokerage firm in the Greater Philadelphia Metro as well as New Jersey and New York State. Since expanding its brokerage services to the Philadelphia/South Jersey region, the firm’s market specialists have sold an unprecedented 20,000+ garden, mid-rise and high-rise units representing an extensive client network, from private, locally based individuals to national institutional investment groups. Gebroe-Hammer also markets mixed-use and free-standing office and retail properties. Widely recognized for its consistent sales performance, the firm is a 14-time CoStar Power Broker.