PNC Financial Services Group sold its regional headquarters building in Scranton on Wednesday and agreed to a long-term lease on the structure.
The 113,000-square-foot building at Penn Avenue and Spruce Street, was acquired by a subsidiary of American Realty Capital Properties Inc., said Jason Beyersdorfer, a PNC spokesman.
The sale price was not disclosed and the deed had not been filed as of Wednesday. PNC agreed to a 20-year lease at the building, Mr. Beyersdorfer said.
The sale-leaseback agreement is a fairly standard practice, Mr. Beyersdorfer said.
“It made sense from a realty management perspective,” he said. “We remain, as ever, committed to the downtown and the city.”
PNC has a bank branch and administrative offices in the four-story structure and occupies 65,000 square feet, Mr. Beyersdorfer said. The building also houses offices leased by professional tenants.
“It will continue to remain as our Northeast Pennsylvania headquarters location,” he said. “There is not expected to be any impact on operations.”
American Realty Capital Properties, a New York-based real estate investment trust whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq, owns more than 4,420 properties and reported second-quarter revenue of $382 million.
Efforts to reach the company were unsuccessful.
The leaseback agreement assures profits for the new owner and PNC probably wanted to shed costs such as taxes and maintenance fees, said John Cognetti,president of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate in Scranton.
“It frees up cash” for PNC, said Mr. Cognetti, who had no involvement in the transaction. “It’s less of a responsibility for them in overhead factors. All they have to do is pay rent.”
The concrete-exterior, four-story building was built for $6.2 million and completed in the spring of 1975 as the headquarters for Northeastern National Bank.
Pittsburgh-based PNC acquired Northeastern Bancorp, the local bank’s parent, in 1985.
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jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com
