$15.3 million sale is the latest deal closed by a team specializing in helping charter schools acquire new locations

Avison Young today announced that it has negotiated the sale of a 106,000-square-foot building in Malvern to Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA), a top accredited public cyber charter school.

The $15.3 million sale is the latest deal closed by the Avison Young team specializing in helping charter schools find and acquire buildings for new locations in Greater Philadelphia. The team is led by Scott Williams, Principal at Avison Young; and Ryan FitzPatrick, Vice President.

“We’re proud to represent CCA, a premier charter school that continues to grow thanks to its outstanding success with students,” Williams said. “We worked hard to find CCA the ideal building for its new location, and this is certainly it.”

The office building at 70 Valley Stream Parkway had been the former headquarters of Ricoh USA. The seller was Star 79VS Owner LLC.

CCA, which provides personalized educational programs and services to K-12 students, has a variety of uses planned for the building. The charter school now has 12 locations and serves more than 11,000 learners at no cost to families.

CCA is one of a growing number of charter schools serving Greater Philadelphia. The number was already increasing before COVID-19 hit; the pandemic is helping to spur even more growth, FitzPatrick said.

“Many of these schools were already set up for online learning in many ways, so their students were still well-served when COVID-19 struck,” FitzPatrick said. “At CCA, students were already attending virtual classes, so they didn’t skip a beat.”

The Avison Young team led by Williams and FitzPatrick has developed deep expertise in helping charter schools find new locations. Under Pennsylvania law, charter schools are funded with public dollars but are allowed to operate outside of the school districts that they serve.

That gives them more flexibility in terms of locations and buildings, Williams said. Instead of constructing new facilities, charter schools often save money by acquiring buildings and converting them for educational uses.

“We are adept at helping charter schools find the buildings that are the best suited for them and the easiest to convert for their needs,” Williams said.

The Avison Young team has helped charter schools acquire numerous buildings over the years.

“Based on the success of charter schools, we expect to help many more in the coming years,” Williams said.

Avison Young creates real economic, social and environmental value as a global real estate advisor, powered by people. As a private company, our clients collaborate with an empowered partner who is invested in their success. Our integrated talent realizes the full potential of real estate by using global intelligence platforms that provide clients with insights and advantage. Together, we can create healthy, productive workplaces for employees, cities that are centers for prosperity for their citizens, and built spaces and places that create a net benefit to the economy, the environment and the community.

Avison Young is a 2020 winner of the Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation, having retained its Best Managed designation for nine consecutive years.