Hampshire, Lipsitz Companies Sell Vacant Retail Property in Monticello

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Morristown, N.J.-based The Hampshire Cos., a privately held, fully integrated real estate firm with equity assets valued at more than $2.5 billion, in a joint venture with real estate investment holding group The Lipsitz Cos., recently announced the sale of an 86,479-square-foot retail building at 300 Seventh St. in Monticello. The property was sold to JR&RII L.L.C.

The retail building was under lease with Kmart until November 2015, but was vacated in the first quarter of 2012 as part of parent company Sears Holding Corp.’s efforts to close a number of its underperforming retail stores. The recent sale allows Kmart to exit its lease on the building before its scheduled expiration, which in turn made the property more desirable. The buyer was represented in the transaction by Wayne Elam of Commercial Realty Solutions.

In a statement, Ray Ayers, investment manager for The Hampshire Cos., said: “Since Kmart had vacated the building before its lease expired, we saw this as an opportunity to reposition the asset and to sell the building to a motivated user. The property’s location in an established, high-traffic, business-driven area was attractive to the buyer.”

Surrounded by retail, commercial and residential properties, the building is also close to major area highways such as Interstate 94 and State Highway 25.

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Logo Courtesy of: www.hampshireco.com