Chesterbrook Shopping Center sold at discount at auction

The Chesterbrook Shopping Center in Wayne, Pa., has been sold.

The lender on the property, U.S. Bank, reportedly bought it for $8.9 million. The bank was the only bidder for the center and went under the name 500 Chesterbrook Boulevard LLC. It will likely look to market the property and eventually sell it, according to people familiar with the transaction. An attorney representing the buyer couldn’t be reached for immediate comment.

The 122,216-square-foot shopping center, which sits on 13 acres, is more than two-thirds vacant. The biggest hit it suffered came when its anchor tenant, Genuardi’s, vacated in August 2010. The grocery store occupied 38,502 square feet. As a result of Genuardi’s closing, the center saw a significant drop off in foot traffic.

The recession didn’t help either as some smaller retailers closed. Many of the empty spaces were never reoccupied. In all, 78,960 square feet of the center is empty and 21 of its 41 units are vacant.

The bank had filed a complaint June 18 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia initiating foreclosure proceedings against Chesterbrook Village Center Associates, which is an affiliate of Brixmor Property Group. Brixmor inherited the property when it bought Centro Properties in 2011.

Chesterbrook Village Center Associates had owed more than $9.8 million. A loan in the amount of $10.5 million was made in 2004.

Chesterbrook Shopping Center sits in the middle of Chesterbrook Corporate Center. The property has a challenging, albeit outdated, layout and design.

The Tredyffrin Planning Commission supported changing the center’s zoning to make it more conducive for redevelopment into something other than a retail center. This could allow for the center to be redeveloped.

 
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal