The CEO of the company that owns the Bergen Town Center in Paramus has proposed a massive expansion in the Northeast Corridor region in the near future.
Urban Edge Properties owns 75 properties, mostly along the East Coast, including 35 in New Jersey, according to its website. The commercial real estate firm recently bought the once-troubled Ledgewood Commons shopping center for $83 million.
“The two biggest drivers of our growth are strong operating fundamentals and accretive acquisitions,” Urban Edge Properties CEO Jeffrey Olson said during an earnings call with investors on July 31. “We are in the final stages of negotiations to acquire several high-quality shopping centers in the D.C.-to-Boston corridor.”
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Olson did not expect any of these sales to close before the end of the year.
An Urban Edge Properties spokesperson said additional locations in New Jersey are being considered, but did not name specific locations.
“They have the presence and knowledge of one of the most populous areas of the country, from Washington DC to Boston, with an emphasis on the North [New Jersey]“, said Charles Cristella, executive vice president of retail at commercial real estate services firm JLL, about Urban Edge.
“It would make sense for them to grow in markets they already know. There are a lot of properties in those markets, and even more people,” Cristella said.
Revitalization of Ledgewood Shopping Center
Ledgewood Commons has a massive Walmart Supercenter, plus Marshalls, Burlington, Ulta, Starbucks and Chipotle. Earlier this year, a Barnes & Noble bookstore opened in the mall after closing four years earlier.
By the time Barnes & Noble left, its main tenants Macy’s and Walmart had already been demolished.
Elsewhere in the redesigned mall, the covered concourse of the former 600,000-square-foot mall is gone, leaving 470,000 square feet of retail and dining in a main building and additional pod sites.
Macy’s has not returned, but Walmart, which closed in 2019, has since built a larger store on the site to replace the original location, the first Morris County Walmart, which opened in 1999.
Living in the shopping center
A mixed-use apartment complex is underway at Bergen Town Center. It will feature 456 units, along with ground-floor retail, private courtyards, swimming pools, fitness rooms and game rooms.
“Shopping malls are in a great position if they are viewed as real estate, and we don’t just view them as shopping malls,” Cristella said in an interview last year.
“Live, work, eat and play — that’s the future” of malls, Cristella said. “If you think about where malls are, these malls, they’re in great markets, they’re easily accessible, and they’re usually near major thoroughfares.”
Daniel Munoz writes about business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
E-mail address: munozd@northjersey.com; Tweet:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey mall owner considers expansion in NJ, Northeast
