Rockefeller Group is planning to build a 192,000-square-foot warehouse in Northeast Philadelphia next to Holmesburg Prison, adding to the list of industrial projects in that section of the city. <\p> The proposal at 8301 Torresdale Ave. calls for 40-foot clear heights, 30 dock doors, two drive-in ramps, 150 car parking spots and 44 trailer parking spots. The warehouse is being built speculatively without tenants but Rockefeller Group Vice President and Regional Director Heath Abramsohn said the building is designed to accommodate one or multiple tenants and cater to a wide range of industrial users including cold storage, third-party logistics companies, e-commerce companies and traditional distribution users.<\p>

The Franklin Institute is readying to open two new permanent exhibits totaling $20.5 million worth of investment and featuring two of its most popular artifacts. <\p> The cultural institution will open its $12 million Hamilton Collections Gallery housing its 350-ton Baldwin locomotive to the public on Nov. 23. That same day, it will also debut the new $8.5 million Body Odyssey exhibit focused on health and the human body, the centerpiece of which is the institute's Giant Heart. <\p>

After helping to quadruple NAIOP Greater Philadelphia’s membership over the past six years, Executive Director Sarah Maginnis is now leading the organization’s push to increase its political advocacy for developers and commercial real estate owners.<\p> Maginnis’ wish list includes lower business taxes to better recruit company headquarters, more staffing for the City of Philadelphia’s zoning and planning departments, and policies that support growing industries while mitigating the negative effects of that growth on lower-income residents.<\p>

Mufson Howe Hunter & Co. LLC, one of the largest investment banking firms in the Philadelphia region, has expanded to the Washington, D.C., market to tap into M&A and capital-raising opportunities within the government contracting industry.<\p> The new office is the 19-year-old company’s first outside of Philadelphia, and it comes as merger-and-acquisition activity in the government contracting industry is heating up.<\p>

A 119-unit residential community is being built on an 18-acre parcel along the Schuylkill River in King of Prussia. <\p> The project, called the River Trail at Valley Forge, is being developed by Conshohocken-based JP Orleans with a mix of two-story carriage houses and three-story townhouses. Pre-sales for the community have launched, and prices start at $679,900 for the two-story homes.<\p>

Spirits-based canned drinks will soon be available at more than 60 Philadelphia-area Giant Food Stores. <\p> The Giant Co. said Monday that it has begun rolling out ready-to-drink cocktails in 138 of its Giant stores and Martin's Food Markets in Pennsylvania that have operating beer and wine departments. The permits, obtained from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, became active Monday when Act 86 officially went into effect. <\p>

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts President Eric Pryor will step down at the end of 2024 after three years in the role. <\p> Pryor has led the Philadelphia school and museum since January 2022 and noted that his contract expires on Dec. 31. At the beginning of the year, Pryor announced that Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts would eliminate its degree-granting programs at the conclusion of the 2024-25 academic year due to rising costs and shrinking enrollment. <\p>

One of the last remaining single-hospital health systems in the Philadelphia region is in discussions about a potential merger.<\p> Grand View Health in Upper Bucks County has signed a non-binding letter of intent to explore the possibility of joining Bethlehem-based St. Luke's University Health Network.<\p>

Philadelphia Eagles merchandise is in high demand, according to a new study from Oddspedia.<\p> An analysis of online search volume found that the Eagles rank fifth in the National Football League with an average of 140,477 searches per month for merchandise-related terms.<\p>

The soon-to-be closure of the 138-year-old Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia is in large part due to the challenges stemming from a wave of deals in the home health care industry, parent company Public Health Management Corp. said. <\p> "With a competitive home health market, where for-profit players have consolidated and affiliated with hospital systems, nonprofit service providers like VNA have struggled to remain financially viable," PHMC said in a statement provided to the Business Journal. "Despite VNA’s long-standing legacy as the leading nonprofit in home health, hospice and palliative care, it could not overcome these complex market challenges."<\p>

Karen E. Knudsen is stepping down as CEO of the American Cancer Society just over three years after she left Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center to lead the national health organization.<\p> Knudsen cited a desire to "pursue the next phase" of her mission to accelerate progress against cancer as the reason for her departure.<\p>

A Bucks County logistics company is ceasing operations at the end of October and laying off 121 employees, according to a filing with the state. <\p> FMC Logistics LLC, based in Quakertown, is shutting down on Oct. 29, the company said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Effected positions include delivery drivers and delivery helpers, according to the filing. The workers are not represented by a union. <\p>

Despite being a majority minority city, Philadelphia has few locally rooted Black-owned banks. It has almost as few women-led banks.<\p> Evelyn Smalls breaks the mold on both counts. <\p>

As the weather begins to cool and summer fades away, Center City's Halloween pop-up bars are reopening in time for spooky season. <\p> Elsewhere in the city, a 23-year-old family-owned butcher shop is South Philadelphia has been sold and a bakery is opening its first brick-and-mortar in Brewerytown. <\p>

Wilmington-based Second Front Systems has raised $70 million in what is likely the largest funding round for a tech startup in Greater Philadelphia this year. <\p> The Series C round was led by Salesforce Ventures with participation from new investor Battery Ventures, and existing investors New Enterprise Associates, Moore Strategic Ventures and Artis Ventures. <\p>

The shuttered University of the Arts filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection Friday with the intention of liquidating its assets, including Center City real estate with a net book value of more than $87 million. <\p> The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware comes weeks after talks on a potential merger with Temple University stalled. UArts shut down suddenly in June, sending shockwaves through Greater Philadelphia's higher education landscape. With the Chapter 7 filing, the institution will sell off its assets in order to pay its creditors. It was previously reported that the school had close to $50 million in municipal bond debt, while the bankruptcy filing shows total liabilities of $74.2 million.<\p>

Editor’s Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. <\p> The pandemic brought about widespread remote work, but those days are nearing an end as employers push for more in-office work. <\p>

A Bucks County man was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for multiple fraud schemes, including the theft of more than $6 million in federal pandemic relief funds. <\p> Stanislav Bril, 41, of Jamison, was ordered to be taken into custody by U.S. District Judge John M. Younge in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon. In addition to the 135-month prison sentence and fine, Bril was ordered to pay $14 million in restitution and received three years of supervised release.<\p>

BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. has closed an $8.5 million stock sale just days after announcing positive results from mid-stage testing of its experimental metastatic breast cancer therapy.<\p> The immuno-oncology company, which has offices in Philadelphia at B+labs in the Cira Centre and in Vancouver, said Friday that it sold 12,325,000 common shares at 69 cents per share.<\p>

Want to buy a soon-to-be former Big Lots?<\p> The retailer this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to close at least 296 stores, including four in the Philadelphia area. Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots started the year with nearly 1,400 stores nationwide.<\p>