While projects across the country stall or delay until the economy turns a corner, a half-million square foot Pennsylvania retail development dubbed Exeter Commons is bucking the trend with 94 percent of its space pre-leased as a late summer opening approaches. The 490,000-square-foot project is located about 40 miles southwest of Allentown, Penn., and is being developed by Exeter JV Associates L.P., a partnership of The Goldenberg Group and Ironwood Property Group. The cost of the project was not disclosed. What key element that allowed Exeter Commons to proceed when others stalled was location, according to Kevin Trapper, senior vice president of The Goldenberg Group.\u00a0\u201cExeter is the gateway into Berks County, which is one of the fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania,\u201d Trapper told CPN. \u201cThe location was the hole in the doughnut. National retailers had stores in surrounding communities, but nothing in Exeter. This project seemed to remain a priority from national tenants.\u201d Two of Exeter Commons\u2019 anchor stores–Target and Giant Foods–are scheduled to open in late July, with the grand opening of Lowe\u2019s to follow in August. \u201cConsumers are excited that they won\u2019t have to drive 20 miles to go to Lowes, Target or Giant Foods,\u201d Trapper said. \u201cEven with the economy and the slower expansion of tenants, this project is on schedule with Target planning on open July 26 and others circling around that date. [The complex] is 94 percent leased and we have several prospects for the remaining 16,000 square feet.\u201d Exeter Commons will be the largest shopping center in Exeter Township. In addition to the anchor tenants, the property will also house Sonic Drive-In, Wells Fargo\/Wachovia, Red Robin, Chick-Fil-A and Affinity Bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While projects across the country stall or delay until the economy turns a corner, a half-million square foot Pennsylvania retail development dubbed Exeter Commons is bucking the trend with 94 percent of its space pre-leased as a late summer opening approaches. The 490,000-square-foot project is located about 40 miles southwest of Allentown, Penn., and is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003968483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n