South Philadelphia real estate firm Hightop Development has acquired 11 Fulton Financial Corp. branches, writes Jeff Blumenthal for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
This is the latest chapter of the bank’s evaluation of its real estate after taking over the failed Republic First Bancorp last year.
Steve Trapnell, the bank’s spokesman, said most of the sites will continue operating as Fulton branches under long-term leases. There are two exceptions, however. One of them is a previously closed location in Bridesburg, which was listed as available to lease.
“There’s no change in strategy or approach,” Trapnell said. “Our network of financial centers continues to include both owned and leased sites.”
In addition to the 11 branches, the bank also acquired a former Republic branch in Gloucester Township from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $1.45 million.
Hightop Development specializes in property acquisition, development, construction, leasing, and property management of mixed-used and multifamily real estate.
CEO David Landskroner highlighted that the firm remains in exploratory mode when it comes to potential development and redevelopment opportunities. This is especially true for the two properties not being leased back to Fulton.
Read more about the South Philadelphia developer that now owns several Fulton branches in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
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