MRA Group completes re-development services for new health care facility in Northeast Philadelphia

Plymouth Meeting-MRA Group (MRA), a Plymouth Meeting based real estate firm announced completion of the re-development of the former Gold's Gym located at 2451 Grant Avenue into a 26,000 square foot medical office building in northeast Philadelphia.

The facility, owned by an affiliate of Frankford Health Care System is the new home for an MRI center, Medical Imaging Associates. Frankford and MRA are actively planning additional tenant medical suites.

MRA provided strategic planning services, pre-development financial analysis, project development, oversight of architectural design and construction management. In addition, MRA provides management services for the property.

"MRA exceeded our initial expectations for this project; ensuring that the building was completed within budget and within a very tight, two month deadline," said Nancy Cherone, vice president of Frankford Health Care System. "Their breadth of experience in medical real estate made them an obvious choice in our decision of who could assist us with this challenging project."

The facility, although structurally sound, was dated and limited in the marketplace by its one-tenant building use and years of deferred maintenance.

MRA President Lawrence J. Stuardi said, "Frankford Health Care came to us to help determine alternatives for their MRI operations. In assisting them, and evaluating options, we considered the building at 2451 Grant Avenue. Where many people saw an inflexible, unsightly structure, MRA saw opportunity, as we successfully re-imaged the building into a multi-tenant facility."

Today, the building is a complete conversion; a four-level medical office facility complete with an added passenger elevator, re-skinned exterior façade, new entrance and canopy, and spacious lobby.

"When beginning a project, we always consider how it will ultimately impact the environment of the community in which we are working," said W. Brian Sundermeir, senior vice president of MRA Development Services. "This was an opportunity to re-purpose and re-develop an obsolete property into an economically viable, community-enhancing asset."

MRA has considerable expertise retrofitting obsolete buildings. Prior experience includes re-development of the former Best Products building in Bucks County into the 69,000 square foot, multi-tenant Oxford Valley Medical Plaza, the conversion of an abandoned grocery store into the 46,000 square foot Holy Redeemer Ambulatory Health Care Annex in Huntingdon Valley, and re-purposing the former Korvette's Store in Lawrence Park into a medical office facility for Main Line Health.

In 2005, MRA also purchased and converted the former Lehigh Valley home of AT&T Bell Labs headquarters into TEK Park, an 800,000 square foot technology campus.

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