Retail Properties Buys 262 KSF, M-U Property in Bronx for $134M

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

Retail Properties of America has spent $192.4 million on two properties in the New York City metropolitan area, including Fordham Place, a 262,000-square-foot Class A mixed-use asset on Fordham Road in the Bronx it purchased for $133.9 million.

The Oak Brook, Ill.,-based shopping center REIT also recently acquired Pelham Manor Shopping Plaza, a 228,000-square-foot community center anchored by BJ’s Wholesale in Pelham Manor, N.Y., for approximately $58.5 million.

“As we continue to refine our portfolio and optimize our operating platform, sourcing compelling opportunities in our target markets will be a key component of our strategy and these acquisitions represent a substantial first step in this initiative,” Shane Garrison, RPAI’s executive vice president, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Investment Officer, said in a news release.

Both properties were sold by Acadia Realty Trust, a White Plains, N.Y.,-based REIT that focuses on retail properties and urban/infill mixed-use properties in high-barrier metropolitan areas on the East Coast and in Chicago. They were redeveloped by Acadia Strategic Opportunity Fund II, L.L.C. in connection with its New York Urban/Infill Redevelopment Initiative. Last year, Acadia sold another New York City shopping center, Canarsie Plaza in Brooklyn, to Cole Real Estate Investments for $124 million.

Jeffrey Dunne and David Gavin of CBRE’s New York Institutional Group represented the Acadia Strategic Opportunity Fund II and also secured the buyer.

“Pelham Manor and Fordham Place provided a unique opportunity for RPAI to significantly increase its holdings in the New York market,” Dunne said in the release. “Both assets provide a combination of strong in-place NOI with long-term leases to national and credit tenants as well as prime locations in extremely dense, infill markets.”

Built in 2008, Pelham Manor Shopping Plaza, located about 10 miles north of Manhattan, is 98 percent leased with tenants that include Michael’s, PetSmart and Five Below. There are approximately 400,000 residents within a three-mile radius of the shopping center.

Fordham Place, with 143,000 square feet of office space and 119,000 square feet of retail, is located across from Fordham University and a Metro-North Commuter Railroad station on Fordham Road. One of New York City’s busiest commercial areas, there are approximately 1.2 million residents within a three-mile radius. It is fully leased to retailers such as Sears, Best Buy, Walgreens and government and not-for-profit office tenants. Built in 1920, it was redeveloped in 2009 and is LEED Gold certified.

One of the largest owners and operators of shopping centers in the United States with assets in 34 states, RPAI recently ended a joint venture with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust of Canada. The two REITS had jointly owned 13 shopping centers in Texas since 2010. Under the agreement, RPAI acquired RioCan’s 80 percent interest in five centers – two in Dallas and three in Houston, which had a total value of $124.8 million. RPAI also conveyed its 20 percent ownership interest in eight properties to RioCan. The total value of the eight properties – two each in Dallas, Houston and Austin and one each in San Antonio and Temple, Texas – was $477.5 million, according to RPAI financial statements.