Real estate company SkyREM announced that Philadelphia’s historic Quartermaster site will be converted into the Quartermaster Science + Technology Park. In addition to planned restaurants, a hotel and other amenities, the $250 million mixed-use commercial redevelopment will include wet and dry lab space for both life science startups and established companies to conduct full-scale research and development, and bio-manufacturing.
“We had a vision to preserve the legacy of this built-to-last historic Philadelphia landmark and transform it to create a vibrant space where the best and brightest want to innovate, collaborate, and work,” said Alex Dembitzer, CEO and founder, SkyREM, owner of Quartermaster. “As we invest in making a positive impact on the community, the Quartermaster Science + Technology Park will meet the great need for additional quality life science space in the Philadelphia area, one of the largest bioscience clusters in the United States.”
The complex was once a busy commercial center which boasted laboratories to create products for the army.
“Our Park provides much-needed space for incredible talent from South Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia region across academic, life science, medical, bio institutions and more to discover, collaborate, produce and manufacture,” said Vered Nohi, regional executive director, new business development, SkyREM at Quartermaster.
Vered joined the SkyREM team on January 1 and will help spearhead the redevelopment project, as well as help manage SkyREM’s other regional assets. Vered concluded nearly a decade leading the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC) and as a representative of the U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation in Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern New Jersey. Prior to this role, Vered oversaw marketing, government and community affairs at the Diamond State Port Corporation, which owned and operated the Port of Wilmington, Delaware for nearly 14 years. Her international experience was also enriched by serving as Tourism Representative at the Israel Economic Mission and Consulate in Taipei, Taiwan for two years, as well as at the Israeli Navy. Vered holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and East Asian Studies from Hebrew University.
The Quartermaster is developed by SkyREM, a real estate investor, owner and developer with a portfolio of properties across the United States. SkyREM has been an active developer in the Philadelphia area for more than 40 years and acquired the Quartermaster site in 2001.
Scheer Partners, a full-service commercial real estate firm with an office in Philadelphia, is leading science and technology leasing, in addition to marketing. MPN Realty, a commercial real estate brokerage firm in the Greater Philadelphia area, is the retail broker for the campus. SkyREM is also working closely with Fifteen, an architecture firm highly experienced in life science’s specialized requirements for research and bio-manufacturing.
