Wyeth Ayerst real estate deal closes

The Rubenstein Co., a private Philadelphia real estate company, closed on the acquisition of the 1.4 million-square-foot Wyeth Ayerst Pharmaceutical portfolio on the Main Line in Radnor.

The real estate company paid an estimated $204 million, or $142 a square foot, for the buildings, located in one of the most vied-after suburbs in the market. Rubenstein now officially becomes the largest landlord in Radnor.

The sale of the properties for about $142 a square foot marks it as one of the largest suburban transactions on record in the region, second only to the 1998 sale of the 1.1-million-square-foot Chesterbrook Corporate Center and Glendhardie office portfolio for roughly $200 a square foot.

Rubenstein said the total investment in the properties, including the acquisition and completed renovation costs over several years, will reach a total of $270 million. Several of the buildings will undergo major interior and exterior renovations.

The real estate company continues to market the sale of a research lab facility at 145 King of Prussia Road.

Wyeth Ayers, a subsidiary of American Home Products, will remain in most of the Radnor buildings until 2003. It will then move in stages to Collegeville, where it purchased the Rhone Poulenc Rorer campus.