|
O’Neill Properties Announces Addition of L.L.Bean as Anchor for Uptown Worthington
MALVERN, PA—July 23, 2008—O’Neill Properties Group today announced it has added Freeport, Maine-based outdoor gear and apparel retailer L.L.Bean to the growing tenant roster for its Uptown Worthington project, a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use community strategically located in the affluent Philadelphia suburb of Malvern, Pa. The announcement was made by Brian O'Neill, Founder and Chairman of O’Neill Properties Group. Planning is currently underway for the new 33,000-square-foot store, which will be built to U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and incorporate the creative use of recycled and reclaimed materials as well as state of the art energy efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems. “We have long felt that the strength of this market would weigh heavy in attracting retailers to the project," said O'Neill. "Chester County's inclusion on the recent Forbes magazine ranking of the best counties in the U.S. to raise a family, combined with the fact that a well-known national market research expert who we hired to analyze the market rated Uptown Worthington as one of the top picks in terms of mixed-use projects scheduled to open in 2009,validates this fact." "In terms of the tenants we are seeking to call Worthington home," O'Neill continued, "we are focused on the 'best of the best' and we feel L.L. Bean is a representative example. We flew to Freeport and met with the executive team to convince them that our project was the right fit for them. We are pleased they agreed with us and we look forward to their opening." Scheduled for completion in Fall 2009, Uptown Worthington is the premier urban,mixed-use development in the Greater Philadelphia area. Situated within the heart of one of the most affluent markets in the United States, Uptown Worthington will transform the former Worthington Steel Factory into a 100-acre live, work, and play community that incorporates the architectural integrity and design of New Urbanism principles. The project is strategically located near four major state thoroughfares, Route 202, Route 29, Route 30, and the new Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange scheduled to open in 2010, which will provide seamless accessibility to the site. Featuring an integrated mix of uses, including retail, office, hotel and residential that will be intertwined and not separated, Uptown Worthington will serve as a true example of an urban village and as a destination for a market that is completely underserved. The proximity of a large daytime office population that exceeds 180,000, 50,000 of which are within walking distance, will supplement a dynamic residential base to create an environment that lives and breathes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Uptown Worthington will include 745,000 square feet of best-in-class retail, restaurants, and entertainment; a 240-room luxury hotel; 753 multi-family luxury residences; and 490,000-square-feet of Class A office space. The project will also feature a green-friendly infrastructure of 30 percent open space to encourage energy conservation, a connection to and extension of the Chester County Rails-to-Trails bike path, and the re-opening of Little Valley Creek, which is currently enclosed in a pipe under asphalt paving. Once complete, Uptown Worthington projects an estimated 8,000,000 visitors per year. ABOUT O’NEILL PROPERTIES GROUP O'Neill Properties is a leading national real estate investment and development company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa., which is developing a portfolio it currently values at over $1 billion. The company focuses on development of mixed-use; retail; Class A office space and luxury multi-family residential housing in the Northeast through the recycling and renovation of surplus brownfield industrial and military real estate. The portfolio includes significant residential, mixed-use, retail and commercial land development projects, which include the development of over 10,000 residential units, and when completed will increase the portfolio’s value to more than $4 billion. O’Neill Properties has completed development of over 13 million square feet of office space, 700 apartments, and currently has over 2 million square feet of mixed-use and residential developments under construction. (www.ONeillProperties.com) ###
|
