Rubenstein Partners has signed leases totaling 131,000 square feet since the summer at its Chesterbrook office campus. The deals are highlighted by a 36,000-square-foot lease signed by a government defense contractor and a financial services company taking an entire 35,000-square-foot building.
The deals bring Chesterbrook’s occupancy to 62%.
Rubenstein Vice President of Asset Management Brian Simel attributed the recent leasing to the location between I-76 and Route 202 near King of Prussia combined with renovations the real estate firm recently completed.
“I think we’ve got something compelling,” Simel said. “That’s what the leasing says about it.”
Arcfield, the government defense contractor, is taking 36,000 square feet at 1400 Morris Drive, the first tenant to move into the building since Cencora, formerly AmerisourceBergen, vacated in 2021.
Philadelphia-based Rubenstein bought the 14-building, 1.1 million-square-foot campus for $148.5 million in 2019 and was aware of then-AmerisourceBergen’s intention to depart for Conshohocken. With 1400 Morris Drive fully vacant, Rubenstein renovated the lobby and entrance.
Arcfield’s 11-year lease brings the four-story, 92,459-square-foot building to 39% occupied.
“It’s an important indication we’re on the right track,” Simel said. “It’s a 1 million-square-foot campus so we’re going to keep working and try to win even more of these. It’s a big lease. It’s a great tenant.”
After operating at 720 Vandenburg Road in King of Prussia for decades, Arcfield plans to move into 1400 Morris Drive in the spring. The Chesterbrook campus is in between I-76 and Route 202, just south of Valley Forge National Historic Park.
The Chantilly, Virginia-based firm has 16 offices worldwide and more than 1,500 employees. Arcfield specializes in systems engineering, mission launch assurance, cybersecurity and missile support.
“When we were looking for a new office for our King of Prussia employees, we sought out an upgraded space, in close proximity to employee homes, with on-site amenities, that was close to restaurants and things to do,” Arcfield Chief Administrative Officer Chris McCall said in a statement.
Chesterbrook sits just south of Valley Forge National Historic Park.
In addition to Arcfield, new tenants at Chesterbrook include management consulting and professional services firm Accenture taking 12,128 square feet and law firm Campbell Trial Law taking 8,846 square feet. Simel declined to identify Chesterbrook’s new 35,000-square-foot financial services tenant.
After buying the campus, Rubenstein planned a $50 million renovation, modernizing buildings’ entrances and lobbies and turning one building into an amenity center. D2 Architects designed the amenity center and lobby renovations.
“It’s certainly taken a lot of work to get to where we are, but that was always the plan,” Simel said. “We bought it knowing there were a lot of major tenants that had already stated their intention to vacate. We saw that as an opportunity to come in, invest a lot of money in the right places and enhance the campus so it would be competitive with the top of the market.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s John Shelly and Gina Brennan represented Arcfield in the lease. JLL’s Doug Newbert, Mike MacCrory and Whitney Hunter represented Rubenstein.