In June 2020, about a year after the old Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery exploded and spewed tons of toxins into the environment, Chicago-based real estate developer HRP Group bought the complex, rebranded it the Bellwether District and envisioned a new innovation and industrial site there employing tens of thousands of people.
After a massive cleanup, the firm landed its first anchor tenant in December: Santa Clarita, California-based DrinkPAK said it plans to manufacture beer, wine, energy drinks, sodas, juices, teas and sparkling water from a 1.4 million-square-foot plant that would be built there. The company said it would create about 175 jobs over the next three years.
The project was recognized as the lease of the year in Philadelphia as part of the 2026 CoStar Impact Awards judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
“The Bellwether District is a generational project that is transforming an urban landscape in the heart of Philadelphia," Andrew Chused, chief investment officer of HRP Group, said in an email. "Our project will create upwards of 19,000 full-time jobs while simultaneously re-purposing obsolete industrial land into a modern, sustainable eco-system built for the new economy.”
Newmark represented DrinkPAK and JLL represented the Bellwether District in the transaction.
About the project: The Bellwether District is a 1,300-acre site in South and Southwest Philadelphia. HRP Group said it removed 99% of legacy petroleum products and 90% of the pipeline from the site. DrinkPAK said the Bellwether campus will be its flagship facility on the East Coast.
What the judges said: "DrinkPAK as the first big tenant at the Bellwether will certainly help catalyze the District's growth and attractiveness to similar tenants in the year ahead," said Gina Lavery, executive vice president and principal at Econsult Solutions.
"Not only is the deal transforming an old industrial park, it is also bringing over 170 jobs and a tremendous amount of revenue to the city," said Nadia Bilynsky, principal at MPN Realty.
They made it happen: Representing the developer were Nate Demetsky, vice chairman at JLL; Jeff Lockard, vice chairman at JLL; Kyle Lockard, managing director at JLL; Mitch Russell, vice president at JLL; Rob Kossar, vice chairman at JLL; and Larry Maister, vice chairman at JLL. Representing DrinkPAK were Jim Belcher, vice chairman at Newmark; Nick Pickard, managing director at Newmark; Michael Spaeder, associate director at Newmark; and Stephen Cook, director at Newmark.