Developer Bart Blatstein buys Daily News/Inquirer building

BY WILLIAM BENDER, benderw@phillynews.com 215-854-5255
Posted: July 29, 2011

BART BLATSTEIN is the alpha and the omega.

At least on our block.

Having recently purchased the former State Office Building at Broad and Spring Garden streets - for a cool $21 million - the Tower Investments developer went ahead and bought the neighboring 18-story Daily News/Inquirer building at Broad and Callowhill.

"It's a wonderful property. We like to have critical mass where we develop," Blatstein said yesterday, declining to reveal how much he's paying Philadelphia Media Network for the half-empty building at 400 N. Broad St. and its adjacent parking lot and garage.

Blatstein, who brought the Piazza at Schmidts to Northern Liberties, called the 87-year-old building a "natural bookend" for his development plan. He wouldn't provide details yesterday.

Greg Osberg, Philadelphia Media's chief executive officer, called the sale of the historic building an "important step in allowing PMN to become better positioned to meet the demands of a changing media landscape."

PMN spokesman Mark Block said the company hasn't decided whether it will move the two newspapers and Philly.com or lease space from Blatstein.

Philly real estate insiders speculated yesterday that Blatstein has a mixed-used plan for the building that could include retail and dining on the ground floor with apartments above.

"His credentials and capital could really spur the development of this part of town into becoming the next big thing," said Harris Steinberg, director of Penn Praxis, an affiliate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

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