Volpe pays Blatstein $7.8M for NoLibs' Tendenza wedding venue and lot
The lot may in the future be redeveloped into some combination of homes, shops and hotel rooms.
Cescaphe Event Group has purchased the 6,000-square-foot Tendenza wedding venue in Northern Liberties and an adjacent lot from developer Bart Blatstein's Tower Investments Inc. for a combined $7.8 million.
Cescaphe, founded by catering mogul Joe Volpe, acquired the event venue at 969 N. Second St. on the edge of the development now known as Schmidt's Commons for $3 million in June, according to records filed with the city. It had leased the property for nearly a decade.
And $4.8 million was paid for an adjacent 26,000-square-foot lot to the south, at 943 N. Second St.
The lot will initially be used for parking for visitors to Tendenza and the nearby Cescaphe Ballroom, but may in the future be redeveloped into some combination of homes, shops and hotel rooms, according to a release this week from M&T Bank, which provided funding for the purchase.
The bank said its financing package also refinanced long-term debt associated with Cescaphe's real estate assets and included lines of credit to support new venues in the future.
Blatstein and Volpe are said to be together developing the defunct Delaware Generating Station power plant near Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown into another event venue.