While the battle rages over how much redevelopers should cram into the former Exton Mall site, investors on the ridge just to the north have turned one of Great Valley’s vacant office buildings into a suburban rarity: 24 studio and 8 single-bedroom apartments.
They’re equipped with kitchens, bathrooms, and washer/dryers, and they’re being marketed as monthslong hotel accommodations for consultants and visitors to nearby employers.
The owners, a group led by Main Line real estate lawyer David McFadden, broker John McGee, and investment partner Chiu Bai, hope the building, which they’re calling the Flats on 100, will be a model for reusing orphan buildings that stud the Great Valley and other suburban office, industry, and retail zones.
The trio picked up the 53-year-old, 30,000-square-foot building and grounds at 319 N. Pottstown Pike (State Route 100) in 2023 for $1.5 million from family-owned Kelsch Disability Services.
“Fifty bucks a [square] foot” seemed like a bargain, even though the partners didn’t have specific plans for it, McFadden said.
“Office buildings are being given away these days. What do we do with them when there’s no demand for office space?” he said. “At the right discount, developers can afford to turn them into something sustainable that people want.”
As offices, the building was broker-rated Class C, the least desirable. The partners paid cash, figuring they could borrow millions for capital improvements if they could show lenders a credible plan to turn it into something more profitable.
“We got lucky with the zoning,” McFadden said. West Whiteland’s “town center” designation allows a wide range of uses.
The partners chose what McFadden calls “hotel-apartments.” He compared it to projects built by Level Hotels & Furnished Suites, with locations in Chicago and the West Coast, and by family-owned, locally based Korman Communities’ AVE Living, with its furnished apartments at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard and other local sites.
McFadden says the model offers “a place that feels like home, with the amenities of larger buildings but a boutique feel.” The units are fully furnished, including appliances, dishes, and linens, as well as cleaning and other services as requested.
Lender Trupert Ortlieb from TruMark Financial, one of the area credit unions bulking up with business loans, arranged $5.7 million in financing for capital improvements.
Contractors demolished and replaced interior walls; added sprinklers, triple-glazed windows, and insulation; and replaced heating and air-conditioning. The reclad of the interior with aluminum finished like pine was picked up by Chiu in China for $30,000 (half that for the materials, $4,000 for shipping, and $11,000 to cover tariffs).
Because the project qualifies as a hotel, it could add a liquor license without the higher cost of a tavern license. A first-floor retail space has been leased to a dentist.
The partners expect interest from nearby employers such as Vanguard Group, QVC, West Pharmaceutical Services, and Accenture.
The Fairfield shopping center, with a Giant supermarket, fast-casual restaurants, and retail stores, is within walking distance. The Exton SEPTA Regional Rail station is two miles down Pottstown Pike.
Seeking light in what had been gloomy space, the developers brought in architect Martin Kimmel from Blue Bell. He persuaded them to replace half “gun-slit” windows with 5-foot-wide glass sheets, which turned out to be more work than expected, trimming 12-inch blocks topped by 4-inch bricks.
Other amenities include a barbecue pit, an outdoor dog walk, a pet-washing room, basement fitness center, conference room, bar, pool table, and walk-on services like massage and physical therapy.
Kimmel and the partners looked at New York apartment plans to see how many one-person units they could fit into the three stories. Beds could be stowed for work-at-home hours, but “we didn’t want those old fold-out Murphy beds,” McFadden said.
They bought canopy beds from Hasier Larrea’s Ori flexible-furniture-systems firm. The beds lower from the ceiling onto couch bases, plus facing rows of shelves can open as a walk-in closet. The bed controls, like the digital room locks, are remote-accessible and have manual overrides in case of power failure.
The narrow building admits more light for that suburban feel.
“Not every office building converts well to apartments,” McGee said. “This was perfect — 65 feet deep, you have a central corridor with apartments. If it were 200 feet deep, you’d have very narrow apartments with one window at the end.”
