Blank Rome LLP is pleased to share that partner Adam E. Laver has been recognized in the Philadelphia Business Journal’s (“PBJ”) Best Real Estate Deals of 2024 for his work on the Retail at the Bend project.
Retail at the Bend was the first-place winner in the Retail Development category. Adam served as counsel for retail-use entitlements. Additionally, Adam served as land use and/or real estate tax minimization counsel in the following “Best Real Estate Deals” award winning projects:
- Hotel Anna & Bel Development
- LVL West Development
- The Parker Development
- Three Parkway Sale
According to PBJ, this annual recognition honors the “best real estate deals in Greater Philadelphia, including the individuals and people behind them.” The honorees were determined by an outside panel of judges from deals nominated by the public with oversight from PBJ’s editorial board. To be considered for recognition, the projects and deals had to have an element of transaction and take place in the 2024 calendar year.
The winners were recognized at an awards ceremony on March 27, 2025, and highlighted in a special print edition of PBJ on March 28, 2025.
To learn more, please click here (subscription required).
Retail at the Bend’s honoree profile, as published in PBJ, is copied below.
Retail Development | First Place | Retail at the Bend
1359 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia
Last year, the increasingly popular Fishtown neighborhood welcomed two national fast-casual chains for the first time, both in the same building. In December, burger concept Shake Shack and salad eatery Sweetgreen debuted in the 61-apartment building The Bend at 1359 Frankford Ave., taking 2,190 square feet and 2,506 square feet, respectively. The Fishtown Collective crafted its vision for the building to fit the property’s irregular triangle shape that fronts both Frankford Avenue and Crease Street so that it would accommodate high-quality retail spaces. The residential lobby was specifically set back from Frankford Avenue to allow 100% of the frontage to be retail. Those spaces feature a cast stone façade, high ceilings and expansive storefronts. The addition of the two major chains marks a shift for the neighborhood’s expanding retail corridor that has been dominated recently by sit-down restaurants.
Size: 6,604 SF among three tenants
Developer/Landlord: The Fishtown Collective
Designer: Briquette Studio
Tenants: Shake Shack, Sweetgreen and The Dermatology Specialists
General Contractor: Tester Construction Group
Lawyer: Blank Rome’s Adam Laver as counsel for retail-use entitlements
To view all the profiles, please click here (subscription required).
