The office building at 2250 Hickory Road in Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Township) sold on June 9th for $5.2 million, which is just under one-third of the $15 million the building sold for in 2018. The property was acquired by PM Hickory, LLC, which is an entity associated with the partnership of the FLD Group and the Adjmi family.

In October 2024, this same partnership purchased the neighboring Plymouth Meeting Executive Campus at 600-660 West Germantown Pike, which was initially listed for more than $100 million and sold for $65.5 million.

Why is this important? There is currently one office building conversion to apartments underway, and there are currently two proposals (one official and one floated) to redevelop large portions of two office parks in Plymouth Township. Plymouth Township’s council recently voted to hold a hearing for a map amendment, which, if adopted, would allow for up to 159 townhouses to replace the Plymouth Ridge corporate center.

Another developer has recently given three presentations informally about redeveloping a significant amount of the Conshohocken Ridge corporate center with a grocery store and apartments. In all three cases, the property owners and/or developers have stated before the council that their efforts to rent the office buildings had been unsuccessful. Essentially, the office buildings are no longer viable.

If the reduced value of the 2250 Hickory Road and the Plymouth Meeting Executive Center, and the current proposals, reflect a wider decline across the township, there will likely be more proposals to convert and/or redevelop office buildings and properties.

No one thinks that office buildings sitting empty is a good idea. So, what type of redevelopment should Plymouth Township be encouraging?

A municipality can encourage a type of development through proactive zoning. This means creating zoning to spur the development that the elected officials think will be beneficial. Plymouth Township’s council has only reacted to proposals from developers—for example, the proposals to allow apartments at the Plymouth Meeting Mall.

That doesn’t mean the developers will bite. But it is better than pointing to a non-binding comprehensive plan that often becomes irrelevant as soon as it is published. A comprehensive plan is a document created by a municipality that serves as a guide for future development. Plymouth Township’s current comprehensive plan (view) was published in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and was meant to guide the township’s development through 2040. It is a new world when it comes to commercial real estate.

What type of proactive zoning steps do you want the township to undertake? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: Google