Source: Philadelphia Business Journal Natalie Kostelni

Developer and car dealership owner Vince Piazza has bought what amounts to a top-notch development parcel in King of Prussia.

An entity called Royale Gardens, which is affiliated with Piazza, bought 1100 First Ave. The property has a 148,000-square-foot building on it that has Devon IT as its anchor tenant.

While the building has value, the real attraction to the property is its 18.14 acres. It is located within the King of Prussia Business Park that has relatively new zoning that encourages dense mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development. The site is near several major arteries including Route 422, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Route 202. A slip ramp is proposed on the turnpike that would give the property a direct connection to the road.

Piazza has enlisted a team from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank to explore a range of options for the parcel of which one is to sell off portions to developers and have them pursue a variety of projects.

One preliminary proposed plan involves tearing down a portion of the existing building, which went up in 1962, and construct an 80,000-square-foot medical office building, said Mike Margolis, a broker with NGKF involved in the listing. Demand for such space is bring driven by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia opening a major medical center not far away on North Gulph Road and other health organizations putting down roots nearby. Some of the land, about three acres, could be used for a 150-room boutique hotel while yet another portion could be used for a multifamily project that would have 300 to 400 units, Margolis said.

Developers are slowly starting to take advantage of the new zoning that will eventually transform that part of Upper Merion. For example, a joint venture between Bentley Homes and Cornerstone Communities is building a $60 million project that has 320 apartments in four buildings at 751 Vandenburg Blvd.