Edison High School To Be Transformed Into $11 Million Community Shopping Center

May 4, 2012 - PRLog -- The transformation of the former Edison High School into a community shopping center and housing development is underway after a groundbreaking ceremony attended by City and State government officials and civic leaders.

Mosaic Development Partners, LLC and Orens Brothers Real Estate, Inc. are leading the long-awaited redevelopment of the school, which closed in 2002 and had become an eyesore before being destroyed by fire last August. The $11-million project, to be called Edison Square, will create 100 construction jobs and approximately 85 full-time equivalent jobs once all the stores in the shopping center are operating. Many of the full-time jobs are expected to be filled by local residents.

The first phase of the nearly 37,000-square-foot development at 8th and Lehigh includes grocery store Save-A-Lot with its expanded fresh produce and meat stations, discount store Family Dollar, Burger King and Kicks USA. Construction is expected to take up to 15 months. A second phase will add housing behind the shopping center.

The center will include a monument to the 54 Edison High School students who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. More students from Edison perished in the war than from any other high school in the country.

“Edison Square will transform this property and again make it a vital part of the community,” said Greg Reaves, a principal of Mosaic Development Partners. “The development means jobs, shopping options and convenience for residents.”  

Guy Orens, a partner at Orens Brothers Real Estate, recognized the importance of funding from Pennsylvania and Washington.

“We are gratified that our lenders, including the state and federal government, believe in the importance of Edison Square,” said Orens. “It represents a unique approach to investing in a community while developing a first-class project that will benefit the neighborhood for decades.”

Edison Square funders include The Reinvestment Fund, The Food Trust, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Fox Chase Bank.  

Orens and Mosaic purchased the property from the Philadelphia School District in June 2011.

About Orens Brothers
Founded in 1979, Orens Brothers Real Estate, Inc. is a privately-owned real estate, development and construction family business headquartered in Philadelphia. Orens Brothers’ mission is to provide a quality finished project through its highly professional and expert staff in redevelopment and development in the Philadelphia region.

About Mosaic Development Partners
Mosaic Development Partners, LLC is a Philadelphia-based commercial real estate development company founded in 2008. Mosaic develops large-scale projects in both urban and suburban locations in the Mid-Atlantic region. Mosaic’s goal is to assist in revitalizing communities by partnering with well-established developers, not-for-profit organizations and government entities.