Current News: 2010-01-14T14:48:23Z Copyright (c) 2010, Janet Grace ExpressionEngine tag:athenianprop.com,2010:01:14 tag:athenianprop.com,2010:index.php/3.120 2010-01-14T14:24:00Z 2010-01-14T14:48:23Z Janet Grace j.grace@athenianprop.com tag:athenianprop.com,2009:index.php/3.117 2009-12-21T18:18:00Z 2009-12-21T19:55:11Z Janet Grace j.grace@athenianprop.com tag:athenianprop.com,2009:index.php/3.114 2009-12-21T17:52:00Z 2009-12-22T14:46:44Z Janet Grace j.grace@athenianprop.com tag:athenianprop.com,2009:index.php/3.111 2009-10-08T15:49:00Z 2009-10-08T15:56:29Z Janet Grace j.grace@athenianprop.com
Athenian's main office is in an efficient, historic, renovated downtown building, 833 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, former home of Gimbel's department store. Jackie Buhn, founder and president of Athenian Properties, shepherded the building from foreclosure in 1998, and Athenian manages it today. Athenian's current focus is in turning around foreclosed commercial buildings. The company promises to double, if not triple, the value of one Virginia mall-turned-office-building this year. Athenian also plans to invest directly in distressed properties.

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Jacqueline Buhn, Athenian's President and founder, was today named one of Pennsylvania's Best 50 Women in Business for 2009. In a Central Penn Business Journal profile, Jacqueline claims that her biggest motivator is "the opportunity to make a difference" and when asked what she would change to make Pennsylvania a better place to do business, says "Pennsylvania must invest in educational infrastructure to succeed economically. Education will position our regios for future success - and make gender discrimination less likely." ]]> tag:athenianprop.com,2009:index.php/3.103 2009-04-28T20:04:00Z 2009-04-30T17:20:27Z Stephanie s.singer@athenianprop.com Construction on $65M Lenfest Hall Begins This Week to Provide Additional Living and Rehearsal space for Music Students

Philadelphia, PA - April 28, 2009

Razak/Athenian is proud to announce it has been named real estate development manager to lead the development of Lenfest Hall, a new $65 million, 106,000 square foot music education and student residence center for The Curtis Institute of Music. As Development Manager, Razak/Athenian is the team leader responsible for guiding the project through the entire development process, from zoning and approvals and managing the design and construction team to a successful project completion. The new 9-story building broke ground yesterday and, once completed, will include dorms, an orchestra rehearsal room, studios, and practice rooms to accommodate the school's long-established needs for additional space.

"Razak/Athenian is thrilled to lead the development team on behalf of one of Philadelphia's most revered cultural institutions," said Alan Razak, Principal of Razak Company. "This project combines best practices in development, design and historic preservation that will have a lasting impact on Philadelphia and beyond. Once completed, Lenfest Hall's expanded facilities will benefit generations of young musicians by providing critical space to learn, live and excel."

Lenfest Hall will be constructed on the site of the former Locust Club and two adjoining historic townhouses at 1610 to 1618 Locust Street in Philadelphia, PA. The new building is registered for LEED certification with the U.S. Green Building Council, and will provide teaching and practice spaces, including a new orchestra rehearsal hall, kitchen, dining and lounge spaces, and 88 student residences. The design, created by the architecture firm of Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates, preserves the historic facades of both townhouses and incorporates them into the new contemporary building design. The project is the first major expansion of the Curtis campus in more than two decades and is part of the school's broader strategic plan to make Curtis the first choice for students seeking musical performance careers.

Curtis recently announced that it has completed fundraising for the project, with donations pledged by more than 60 individual and foundation donors, including a $30 million matching grant from H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest. The project, which has been approved by the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment and Historical Commission, will be completed in time for the Fall 2011 semester.
About Razak/Athenian

Razak/Athenian is a joint effort of Razak Company and Athenian Properties LLC, two Philadelphia-based real estate development companies with a focus on urban projects. The companies also assist institutions, corporations and investors through consulting services in all aspects of the real estate life cycle; from strategic planning through project management to property management. Razak/Athenian is dedicated to creating intelligently designed and environmentally responsible projects in the Philadelphia area.

]]> tag:athenianprop.com,2009:index.php/3.102 2009-01-21T03:37:00Z 2009-01-21T03:48:00Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com Inquirer Staff Writer
The Philadelphia School District has tens of thousands more seats than students, and the empty space will only grow in years to come.
The district has 43,500 more seats than students, and it could have as many as 61,000 in five years. The
surplus affects all grades.
More than a dozen district schools use fewer than 50 percent of their available seats, officials said. The district
counts school capacity by measuring the maximum number of students that can be educated in a building.
Still, some neighborhoods - particularly those in the east region, including the areas of Mayfair, Kensington,
Fishtown, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Frankford and Juniata Park - remain overcrowded, even with some students bused to schools elsewhere in the city.
"We have a paradox of overcapacity and overcrowding at the same time," said Michael Masch, the district's
chief business officer.
Officials said they would consult with communities that might be affected before arriving at any formula for change. There is no timetable for when school closings or other plans might be put into place.
Citywide, there are about 167,000 students enrolled in district-run schools. Counting charter school pupils, there are about 200,000 public school students in Philadelphia.
A consultant recommended yesterday that the district consolidate programs, close buildings, or change the way
buildings are used. Changing enrollment requirements also was mentioned as a possibility. Athenian Properties L.L.C. presented the information at yesterday's School Reform Commission meeting.
Even if the district halved its 45 percent dropout rate, doubled the number of children in early-childhood
programs, lowered class size 10 percent, and added many more charter schools, the seat surplus still would grow, according to the consultant's report.
Athenian suggested that the surplus gave the district a chance to "spend less money on real estate and more
money on education."
The district's facilities puzzle is a complex one. The typical Philadelphia public school is 70 years old, and for
many years little was spent on capital projects. But under the Paul Vallas administration of the early- to-mid2000s, the district began investing in building projects, converting many elementary schools to K-8 buildings and changing middle schools into small high schools. The Vallas-era capital plan expires this year.
Masch said the administration was working on a "right-sizing" policy.
He said that more than a dozen schools in the city were at less than 50 percent capacity. That means, he said,
that "we will be spending money to heat and light and staff buildings that are severely underpopulated."
Commission Chairwoman Sandra Dungee Glenn said that in making decisions about how to address the
overcapacity problem, the panel must weigh factors such as whether children should be able to walk to school or how long they should be on a bus.
Glenn said that overcrowding in some areas and undercrowding in others was likely to influence future
decisions the commission made, such as whether to approve charter schools.
Rather than just closing buildings, the district could house multiple programs in a single structure - a practice
common in New York City public schools, Glenn said. This already is happening in Philadelphia: the old Sulzberger Middle School is now home to a Middle Years Alternative program and the Parkway West High School program.
The district is likely to revisit the capacity issue every school year going forward, Masch said.
Yesterday's meeting could be the last official gathering for some commission members. Four of the five
members' terms are up Sunday, and with no official word from either the mayor's or governor's offices - each is responsible for two appointments this year - it is unclear what the panel will look like going forward.
U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), a Glenn ally, said he believed she would be reappointed to the commission
and remain as chair.
"I assume she will be leading the district as she has," Fattah said.
Also up are the terms of Commissioners James Gallagher, Heidi Ramirez and Martin Bednarek. Gallagher is
widely expected to leave the commission.
actioncpttitleC.pdf ]]> tag:athenianprop.com,2008:index.php/3.92 2008-10-15T16:51:00Z 2008-10-27T14:57:44Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com As Population Declines, Seats Are Empty in Phila. Schools

by KYW News Reporter Mike DeNardo

Philadelphia's declining population means more unused seats in Philadelphia schools. Philadelphia has about 170,000 public school students, but its buildings could accommodate thousands more, according to an analysis prepared for the School Reform Commission.

Jackie Buhn, who heads Athenian Properties, presented the study: "There are more seats than students in Philadelphia. There's an oversupply which is expected to grow to about 44,000 seats in the next five years." The study says any future construction should be done with this in mind.

Commission chair Sandra Dungee Glenn says the analysis only focuses on facilities, not the quality of individual schools: "You might want to retain a program because it's a wonderful school. There are some other schools, as we know, that we may want to close because of the academic or educational programs. And so there are a lot of other layers that need to be factored into this." ]]> tag:athenianprop.com,2008:index.php/3.90 2008-02-12T16:29:01Z 2008-10-27T12:50:22Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com tag:athenianprop.com,2007:index.php/3.60 2007-04-09T02:19:00Z 2007-04-09T02:28:23Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com tag:athenianprop.com,2007:index.php/3.58 2007-03-23T13:56:00Z 2007-03-26T14:42:30Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com
Athenian Properties LLC
833 Chestnut Street, Suite 909
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Phone, fax, and email will stay the same. ]]> tag:athenianprop.com,2007:index.php/3.41 2007-03-06T03:11:00Z 2007-03-27T17:14:00Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com tag:athenianprop.com,2007:index.php/3.31 2007-03-01T20:53:00Z 2007-03-01T20:54:03Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com tag:athenianprop.com,2006:index.php/3.14 2006-11-27T20:50:00Z 2007-03-26T14:43:17Z Admin kathy@lovemoxie.com Jacqueline Buhn connects 'urban' and 'life'
As a principal at Renaissance Properties and resident of Fitler Square, she puts her faith in the city

MELANIE D. GOLDMAN
SPECIAL TO THE BUSINESS JOURNAL

Get Jacqueline Buhn talking about real estate and it won't take be long before she's talking about schools. A principal at Renaissance Properties, a real estate development and manage-ment firm in Center City, Buhn says there's not many degrees of separation between the real estate industry and the public school system.

Just look at what free preschool in Philadelphia would do," said Buhn, one of the Philadelphia Business Journal's 25 Women of Distinction this year. "It would certainly make a difference in the real estate market downtown."

She said more families would stay in the city if the school system had more to offer. "There would be people living and working downtown. They'd need offices and houses, people could work more productively, kids would go to school better prepared, which means they'd be better educated and better employees, and that would mean fewer people in our jails. It clearly has a significant im-pact in my business. Good schools would mean a lot to urban real estate. Great schools would mean even more."
For her part, Buhn has meant a lot to urban real estate in Philadelphia, where 11-year-old Renaissance has earned a reputation for developing car-rier hotels over the last few years. Buhn said the carrier hotel is a great use for old buildings that didn't previ-ously have profitable use. Through her work, she has become known locally as the telecom-carrier hotel guru and has been asked to work in telecom develop-ment both regionally and nationally.

Renaissance's biggest current projects include the management of 440 N. Broad St., the former Inquirer printing press building, and the reinvestment and re-marketing strategy for 833 Chestnut St., where Buhn has increased occupancy from 27 percent to 60 percent, with rental rates up by 25 percent.
The 440 N. Broad site, which was va-cant, is being redeveloped into a tele-com carrier hotel and data center by The Archon Group, a Goldman Sachs subsidiary. The 833 Chestnut project, said Buhn, is important to the redevel-opment on East Chestnut. Its historic renovation has included restoring the facade and installing a new gold- painted cast iron storefront, a replica of the original. The building is now home to several high-tech and medical tenants in addition to the telecom ten-ants, which bring new high-paying jobs and activity to Chestnut Street.

Buhn is the president of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Philadelphia, which she said has been a great asset to her and the community of women in real estate. "CREW has helped women hone their skills and networking," she said. "We give each other job leads just like the old boys' network. It?s an industry that has been dominated by men, but I see it changing."

She is also the secretary of the Coalition for Com-mercial Real Estate Agen-cies and a member of the Forum of Executive Woman. She speaks regu-larly on real estate issues at the University of Pennsylvania. Through CREW and the Yale Club, Buhn has also been active with Endow-A-Home and Youth Services, two regional agen-cies that serve local at-risk youth and families. She has participated in numerous neighborhood organizations, including Friends of Schuylkill River
Park, Schuylkill Park Community Gar-den, Town Watch, Center City Resi-dents Association Zoning Review Board, Greenfield and J.R. Masterman School Home-School Association and Filter Square Improvement Associa-tion.

"Some people know exactly what they want to do," she said. "At 49, I ought to be old enough to know what I want be when I grow up, and I don't. I think that's OK, because with the market changing so much, you have to be able to adapt."

Buhn hopes to one day work on turning abound the city's schools so to serve kids better and attract families, rather than driving them away which she said is the case today.

But Buhn's abiding interest is cities and making them great places live. Working with her Renaissance partners, co-founders Stan Taraila and Jon Sutton, Buhn passionate about the revitalization of downtown. She wants to help make cities livable, which, she said, "means that we'll all be more sane environmentally. I live in the city, have a garden on the river where grow all our family vegetables, we have parks nearby, I walk to work."

"We're a family of four with one car It's really idyllic. I'd like to see other families ]]>