Westover Buys Suburban Philly Retail Center

By Tudor Scolca

The Gilbertsville Shopping Center

The Westover Cos. acquired Gilbertsville Shopping Center in suburban Philadelphia. The grocery-anchored shopping center was marketed by an HFF team on behalf of the seller, Brixmor Property Group. Westover bought the asset in an all-cash transaction.

The 85,576-square-foot shopping center is anchored by Weis Markets, a food retailer that has been a tenant of the building since its construction in 1976. At the time of the transaction, the asset was 95 percent leased. Other tenants include Anytime Fitness, T-Mobile, Pet Valu, Dairy Queen, Quest Diagnosis and Key Bank.

Prime suburban location

The property is situated at 1050 E. Philadelphia Ave. in Gilbertsville, Pa. Tenants get good exposure due to the central location, with multiple apartment communities along Route 73 and adjacent streets as well as traffic inflow from Route 100. The Gilbertsville suburb is approximately one hour and a half from downtown Philadelphia, and about two hours from New York City. 

“The Gilbertsville Shopping Center has been a successful asset since its development due to its market positioning and Weis grocery anchor. Grocery-anchored retail in the Philadelphia suburban markets continues to price aggressively, and Gilbertsville was no exception with multiple competitive offers throughout the marketing process,” said Chris Munley, managing director at HFF, in a prepared statement. Munley together with Director Michael DiCosimo and Senior Managing Director Jose Cruz facilitated the transaction.

Image courtesy of HFF