Business owner Jared Mizrahi is planning a $5 million makeover of a mixed-use property in downtown Lancaster.
He just needs to finalize the financing.
A big piece came through last month in the form of a low-interest $1.4 million loan from the state’s Building Pennsylvania program, arranged by Lancaster-based EDC Finance.
Mizrahi said he is hoping to close soon on a bank loan but declined to name the lender, noting that it has not been easy to find one.
“This is definitely one of the biggest challenges,” said Mizrahi, who owns a Manheim company that auctions restaurant equipment.
What’s the project: Renovation of a 35,000 square-foot property known as Place Marie, a complex of three interconnected buildings with addresses at 50-54 N. Queen St. and 10-12 W. Orange St.
The property houses street-level retail space that is fully occupied, but upper floors that have been vacant for decades.
Mizrahi plans to spruce up the retail space and, above them, carve out a mix of offices and short-term residential space for tourists and other visitors to the city.
The office space, about 6,600 square feet, is being developed in partnership with a company called IWG, a Swiss firm specializing in nontraditional office space such as co-working, flex and hybrid offices.
“There’s a lot of offices out there,” Mizrahi acknowledged. “But in this market, specifically in Lancaster city, there’s a huge need for this flex office space concept.”
Businesses and entrepreneurs would be able to rent desks, meeting space or offices without signing long-term leases, he said. They would also have access to a range of virtual office services.
Mizrahi wants to bring a restaurant to a retail space that is currently being used by a church. The space, which fronts Market Street at the back of the building, was previously a restaurant.
The property had been listed by Lancaster-based Compass Real Estate.
What’s next: Mizrahi has a sales agreement to buy the property for $2.75 million from the current owner, a local real estate partnership that had previously sketched out plans for rehabbing the property.
He had hoped to close on the property at the end of July. He is now hoping to close the deal in mid-September.
The delay stems from the general post-pandemic concern among lenders over projects involving office space.
But, Mizrahi said, “I’ve done a lot of work to make sure my numbers are accurate.”
The calculations include minimizing the extent of renovations needed to prepare the building for reuse.
“The key was looking at the space and really determining what is the highest and best use for the space as it exists, not bringing it down to the shell and doing something totally different,” said Mizrahi, acknowledging that he is not the first to tackle the property.
Efforts to reach one of the current owners were not successful.
The developer: Mizrahi is owner of Manheim-based PCI Auction Group, an auction service for restaurant equipment.
He got his start as an entrepreneur at age 12, when he logged on to eBay to sell used golf balls he had been collecting.
His auction business grew on the side while he pursued a career as a high school math teacher. He eventually left teaching to operate PCI full time.
Mizrahi also has a passion for real estate investment.
Past projects include purchase and post-fire reconstruction of Doctor Tire, a retail property at 444 S. Prince St.
He has enjoyed learning about the history of Place Marie. And he feels strongly about seeing the redevelopment through to completion, given the publicity surrounding his plans and the community interest.
“I want to come through for all of them and do what I say I’m going to do,” Mizrahi said. “I think it’s going to be awesome.”
