Insurance giant Chubb sells historic Walnut Street office building to New York developer known for Central Park skyscrapers
Chubb is moving its extensive Philadelphia operations to a new 18-story office building at 2000 Arch St., where it has promised to add 1,250 jobs.
The Zurich-based insurance giant Chubb has sold its historic former office building at 436 Walnut St. to New York-based Extell Development Company, according to four sources familiar with the transaction who are not authorized to speak with the press.
Extell, founded by prominent developer Gary Barnett, is known for building some of Manhattan’s newest and most exclusive residential skyscrapers like the 98-story Central Park Tower and the 75-story One57.
Extell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Their junior partner in the purchase is Philadelphia-based Chevron Property Holdings.
The Old City building sold for $30 million, less than its current assessed value. In city records, the building is listed as last sold for $22 million in 2004.
Although Barnett is known for remaking Manhattan’s skyline, a person familiar with his thinking said that he has not yet decided whether to keep the Walnut Street building as offices or turn it into apartments or a hotel.
The building is protected from demolition by local historic preservation regulations. It is included in the Society Hill historic district.
Chubb is moving its extensive Philadelphia operations to a new 18-story office building at 2000 Arch St., where it has promised to add 1,250 new jobs.
That building, developed by the Parkway Corporation, is slated to open in the coming months.
The 330,000-square-foot building on Walnut Street is more than 100 years old. It is one of two offices near Washington Square where Chubb’s Philadelphia presence has been centered. The other is 510 Walnut St.
In a listing for the sale, real estate services firm JLL described an array of options for its future — including office-to-residential conversion.
“The building’s design features large flexible floorplates and ample windows on every floor,” the listing reads, “providing an investor the opportunity for a variety of redevelopment opportunities including luxury apartments, upscale condominiums, a boutique hotel, or state-of-the-art offices.”
A residential conversion of the building would easily fit under the property’s flexible zoning district, and it would also benefit from the 10-year property tax abatement.
Although the incentive was weakened for new construction projects, it remains in full force for redevelopments of existing buildings.
Neither JLL or Chubb immediately responded to requests for comment.
JLL’s Jim Galbally, Brett Segal, and Francis Coyne are named as the contacts for the project in the listing.
In 2017, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a historical marker outside 436 Walnut St. to commemorate the history of the Insurance Company of North America (INA), which eventually was folded into Chubb.
INA operated in Philadelphia beginning in 1792, and was an early insurer of ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.