Cedar Realty Trust, Inc., a publicly-traded shopping-center
landlord based in Port Washington, Long Island, N.Y., says it is now the
"dominant" retail landlord in South Philly after agreeing to pay
$92.3 million-- including $53.4 million in fixed-rate debt -- to developer
Forest City Ratner Cos. for the 10-year-old Quartermaster Plaza center at 23rd
and Oregon, near the Passyunk Ave. exit on I-76.
Metro Commercial Real Estate's Paul Rumley was lead broker
on the deal, says president Steve Gartner. "This was not a property that
was on the market," he added. "However, it is extremely difficult to
develop a center in Philadelphia from the ground up. The barriers to entry,
including simply finding a site, are too high. South Philadelphia is a strong
retail market. Centers are well occupied, if not fully leased. The surrounding
residential neighborhoods continue to get stronger, with home price increases
and new residential development all over," spreading south from Center
City.
The 456,000 sq ft plaza, on 43 acres, is anchored by a BJ's
Wholesale Club. Cedar says the stores are 98% rented, and there's room to add
nearly 100,000 sq ft of new stores. Cedar already owns the neighboring, 283,000
sq ft South Philadelphia Shopping Center, and the firm says that gives it 22%
of all the retail space in the city below South Street. Cedar will
"leverage" its "dominant presence (in) South Philadelphia"
to "serve the needs of this large and growing urban population,"
chief executive Bruce Schanzer said in a statement. More here.
Philly-wide, Cedar owns five shopping centers, totalling 1.3
million sq ft., and that makies it a larger landlord here than Philadelphia-based
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (which owns the Gallery and other
Center City properties), according to Cedar.
Source: Philly.com
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