RAMSEY, NJ — National gourmet sandwich chain Jimmy John’s continues is expansion in New Jersey with a new 1,130 SF location at Ramsey Center – 875 Route 17 South, Ramsey, NJ. The store is the first in Northern Bergen County.
“Jimmy John’s has really great exposure on Route 17, and the business is steadily growing,” says David Townes of Welco Realty, who represented the landlord in the transaction.
Ramsey Center is a high visibility retail strip at the intersection of Route 17 and Airmount Ave. Jeff Mullen of Summit Realty, LLC represented the tenant in the transaction.
SHREWSBURY, NJ — Cost Plus World Market, a division of Bed, Bath & Beyond has secured a new 15,000 sf space at 490 Broad Street, Shrewsbury, New Jersey. It is their second store in the New Jersey area (Monmouth County). They opened their first Northeast store in July 2014 at 530 W. Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Livingston, New Jersey (Essex County). Cost Plus World Market has 260+ store locations throughout the US that sells stylish and affordable home décor, furniture & accents.
Jerry Welkis, a principal of Welco Realty and David Townes, Leasing Agent of Welco Realty represented the landlord, MCP Associates, LP, in leasing the present Annie Sez store in Rt. 35 in Shrewsbury. We negotiated the deal directly with the tenant..
Welco Realty, Inc is a leading commercial brokerage firm in the New York, New Jersey Metro area specializing in retail tenant & landord representation. Welco Realty also serves as the Exclusive Leasing Agent for landlords and developers throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Welco Realty represents over 30 national and regional tenants exclusively.
NORTHVALE, NJ — National pet supply chain Pet Depot has secured a new 3,015 SF space at 271 Livingston St – Northvale Square Shopping Center. The store is the first in the chain in Bergen County, and the fifth Pet Depot franchise in the state of New Jersey.
“The Northvale area is great for Pet Depot and this center in particular will provide the new store with lots of traffic from tenants like Starbucks, CVS and Panera Bread,” says David Townes of Welco Realty, who represented the tenant in the transaction. “Northern Bergen County and Rockland County are the perfect suburban demographic for Pet Depot.”
Northvale Square is owned by Maxim Realty Trust, which was represented by Matthew Flath of The Goldstein Group. Donna Nusspickel is the owner of the Northvale Pet Depot franchise, and this is her first location.
NORTHERN NEW JERSEY — National urgent care chain MedExpress has expanded in New Jersey with six new locations. The 125-store chain opened new facilities in Lodi, Totowa, Springfield, Hazlet, Watchung & Green Brook New Jersey.
“MedExpress has prioritized New Jersey in their national expansion,” says David Townes of Welco Realty. Jerry Welkis, Stephan Miller and David Townes worked with MedExpress to grow their presence in northern New Jersey.
LEDGEWOOD, NJ — National clothing store chain Plato’s Closet has secured a new 3,600 SF space at 1029 Route 46 – Ledgewood Plaza. The store is the first in the chain in Morris County, and the seventh Plato’s Closet franchise in the state of New Jersey.
“Ledgewood Plaza is well located at the intersection of Route 46 & Route 10, and close to I-80,” says David Townes of Welco Realty, who represented the tenant in the transaction. “Plato’s Closet will enjoy traffic and exposure from customers coming to TGI Fridays, CVS and the adjacent BJ’s Wholesale.”
Ledgewood Plaza is owned by Ledgewood Circle Shopping Center LLC, which was represented by Jesse Finkelstein of The Goldstein Group. Nicholas Zirpoli is the owner of the Ledgewood Plato’s Closet franchise, and this is his first location.
NANUET, NY — National fast casual tex-mex restaurant Moe’s Southwest Grill has secured a new 2,014 SF space at 100 Route 59 – College Plaza. The store is the first in the chain in Rockland County.
“We are excited to bring Moe’s to College Plaza,” says David Townes of Welco Realty, who represented the landlord in the transaction. “Central Rockland County is an ideal market, and College Plaza is strategically located in the middle of it all.”
“The state of New York has embraced Moe’s fresh, made-to-order food and family-friendly atmosphere,” said franchise partner, Lee Diprizito. “We continue to show our commitment to the community by supporting the local high schools, community centers and partnering with the New York Jets to create a one-of-a-kind restaurant experience in Nanuet.” College Plaza is undergoing a renovation including a new building facade. Scott Milich of The Goldstein Group represented the tenant in the transaction.
Welco Realty, Inc is a leading commercial brokerage firm in the New York Metro area specializing in retail tenant representation by providing market analysis, expansion strategy, site selection, letter of intent and lease negotiation to many national and regional retailers. Welco Realty also serves as the Exclusive Leasing Agent for landlords and developers throughout New York and New Jersey.
The Mall at Bay Plaza locked in another large tenant just ahead of the Bronx shopping center’s opening today. XSport Fitness finalized a lease for 37,000 square feet on the third and fourth floors last week and all tenants sign a 10-year lease, the New York Observer reported. The operator of 24-hour gyms is expected to open for business at Bay Plaza in the second half of 2015, according to the website.
CBRE’s Michael Kadosh was the broker for XSport, while Jerry Welkis of Welco Realty represented Prestige Properties, the mall’s developer.
Prestige CEO Sam Shalem told the Observer rents at the complex range from $100 to $200 per square foot. He added that the mall is now 70-percent occupied and 86-percent leased.
The Mall at Bay Plaza opens today following a two-year, $300 million construction job, the New York Daily News reported. The 780,000-square-foot complex is New York City’s first new suburban-style mall in four decades.
Discount fashion retailer Forever 21 has signed a lease for a 15,000-square-foot space for the upcoming Mall at Bay Plaza in the North Bronx, the shopping center’s developer, Prestige Properties,announced Thursday.
The Los Angeles-based chain will move in alongside stores like Victoria Secret, H&M and anchor department stores Macy’s and JC Penney in the 780,000-square-foot retail development slated to open Aug. 14.
“We initiated the deal; we sought after Forever 21,” said Jerry Welkis of Welco Realty, who represented Prestige in the deal. Mr. Welkis added that around 80 percent of the new mall is leased at this point.
The development located at the intersection of I-95 and Hutchinson River Parkway near the Westchester border created 2,000 construction jobs and could mean as much as 1,700 permanent jobs once it’s open, according to the company.
“Forever 21 has made leaps and bounds in the fashion and retail world, and we are honored to have them join our family of stores at the mall,” said Prestige’s CEO Sam Shalem in a prepared statement. “Local residents have been quick to tell us that they will no longer have to travel outside of the borough to access great clothes and goods.”
Michael Townsend of Townsend & Associates represented Forever 21 in the transaction, according to Mr. Welkis. Mr. Townsend and Forever 21 didn’t immediately respond to phone and email requests.
Mr. Welkis declined to state asking rents or the term of the lease, but he previously told The New York Times that rents in the mall vary from $100 to more than $200 per square foot.
MIAMI—Retail leasing is a different animal in Miami than it is in Houston, Seattle or Chicago. But there are some common threads that run through the markets.
GlobeSt.com caught up with Jerry Welkis, president of Welco Realty and X Team International partner, to get his take on how retail leasing has changed and what trends he sees in emerging in part one of this exclusive interview. Welco has represented the likes of AMC Theaters, Marshalls, Toys ‘R Us, Party City, and Dress Barn. Be sure to come back this afternoon for part two, where Welkis will discuss his best retail leasing strategies.
GlobeSt.com: What is the state of retail leasing and how has it changed over the past 12 months?
Welkis: Over the last 12 months there has been a significant increase in the open to buy for both national and regionalretail chains. There seems to be a real interest in doing new deals, however retailers have become more demanding in their requirements for stronger co-tenancy language, early termination rights, and more restrictive exclusives to protect their core business. Retailers are also asking for more tenant improvement allowances, which suggests that they are looking for the landlords to help fuel their expansion by using landlords’ dollars as opposed to their capital expense dollars, allowing them to open more stores.
There has also been a severe reduction in the last 12 months of second generation, large box space that has not already been leased. As a result of the bankruptcies we saw over the past few years, including Circuit City, Borders, and Linens N’ Things, there was a significant amount of medium and large size retail boxes that needed to be filled. That is no longer the case.
There also seems to be a tremendous amount of activity in the quick-casual serve business primarily with franchised restaurants. When corporate executives and middle management found themselves out of work during the down turn, many of them decided to go into business for themselves and purchase franchises. This has brought a tremendous upsurge in new franchise concepts and the need for new retail locations.
GlobeSt.com: Is it easier or more difficult to get retail leases done? How creative do you have to get these days?
Welkis: It has become increasingly difficult to get retail leases finalized. One of the major issues is finalizing a Letter of Intent.
When you finalize the business terms with a retailer, the letters of intent that have been drafted have become more like lease documents and it takes weeks, and in some cases months, just to finalize it. When you eventually get it finalized, it typically goes to a real estate committee, which meets once a month. If you miss one meeting, it will get put off until another 30 days.
Additionally, many of the leasing companies have scaled-down and the legal departments are inundated with new leases, lease extension agreements, estoppel certificates, etcetera. The legal department ends up reviewing documents on a priority basis so if you are not making a deal with a tenant that will open in the same year, your leases get put in the bottom of the pile.
GlobeSt.com: What trends are you seeing in retail leasing? For example, are certain product types hotter than others? Certain sizes trending generally? Tenants looking for particular features? Is it a tenant’s market or a landlord’s market?
Welkis: One of the very active retail segments is the health club fitness center industry. We are still seeing strong activity in the big box fitness clubs from 30,000 to over 100,000 square feet offering spa-type amenities along with typical fitness club services and offerings.
Companies such as Lifetime Fitness, LA Fitness, 24-Hour Fitness, and Equinox give a consumer a country club-type atmosphere with restaurants, spas, personal services, etcetera. There is also strong activity in the more budget-oriented health clubs such as Retro Fitness, Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness, and Blink Fitness, typically offering a 15,000 to 20,000 square feet “no frills” environment, with a clean and well equipped fitness center.
Another strong trend, as I mentioned before, are the fast–casual restaurant concepts such as Noodles & Co., Sarku, Panda Express, Corner Bakery. and Smashburger, to name a few. Additionally, the self-service frozen yogurt franchise keeps multiplying because of the high profit margin and minimal operational and employee cost.
The supermarket retailers are being very aggressive as well. There are distinct offerings from the lower price point offerings such as Aldi, operating in approximately 17,000 square feet, to companies like Fairway Supermarket operating in approximately 55,000 square feet.
These tenants are able to get into the urban markets with smaller space requirements and multi-level layout abilities. Fairway is a great example of what consumers have come to expect from these supermarkets, including normal and organic food products along with a great display of prepared foods for on-premises and off-premises consumption, an in-house bakery, a cheese department and a fresh bean coffee display. Wegman’s Supermarket is operating in over 120,000 square feet and offering space for other boutique stores within its store, giving consumers a wide selection of all types of products.
The trend of downsizing has also continued by retailers who are looking to maximize sales per square foot. Some of these retailers have been affected by the continued increase in Internet sales. A couple of examples are Staples, who has been operating in 20,000 to 24,000 square feet and are now downsizing to 15,000 to 12,500 square feet, and Best Buy who has been operating in 40,000 to 50,000 square feet and are now looking at stores as small as 30,000 square feet.
Over the last few years, it was definitely a tenant’s market due to the lack of expansion growth by many retailers during the recession. However, there has been a large shift in the marketplace and there is now a shortage of good available retail space as a result of the lack of new shopping centers being developed in the last few years and infill of the previously available space. That said, it is now a landlord’s market.
Rendering of the entry to Mall at Bay Plaza
National one-stop-shop beauty products store Ulta Beauty signed a lease for 11,400 square feet at the under-construction Mall at Bay Plazanear Co-op City in the Bronx, and hopes to debut on Aug. 14,
the day of the mall’s grand opening.
Ulta’s asking rent was in the low-$100s per square foot and the mall’s rents climb as high as the $200 per square foot range (for smaller stores), the landlord’s representative, Jerry Welkis of Welco Realty, toldCommercial Observer. Ulta’s lease is for 10 years and marks the retailer’s first location in the Bronx. The brand has more than 550 stores nationwide.
The over $300 million, 780,000-square-foot Mall at Bay Plaza is being developed by Prestige Properties & Development, which also developed the adjacent Bay Plaza Shopping Center.
“It’s the only borough without an enclosed fashion mall,” Mr. Welkis said. Ulta will join Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Michael Kors, H&M and American Eagle. The 160,000-square-foot Macy’s and the existing free-standing 166,000-square-foot J.C. Penney will serve as the anchor tenants. The mall is being connected to J.C. Penney so the department store can be entered via any of its three floors.
Rendering of the inside of Mall at Bay Plaza
The new mall is at the intersection of I-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway. It will feature more than 100 stores, restaurants and a large health club. There will also be an 1,800-vehicle parking garage associated with the mall. Altoon Partners (formerly Altoon + Porter) designed the complex. The two malls won’t be competing against each other as the open-air Bay Plaza Shopping Center is more value-driven, said Mr. Welkis. The existing mall is “primarily a big-box outdoor power center,” he said.
Sabre Real Estate Group‘s Jayson Siano, Doug Bomzer and the late Beth Lamport represented Ulta in the deal.
FLEMINGTON, NJ – North Plainfield based Levin Management has announced the successful negotiation of a long-term lease with HomeGoods at The Shoppes at Flemington. Levin’s leasing representative Jake Frantzman negotiated the transaction, which included construction of a new 22,000 s.f. building for the home fashions retailer.
Jerry Welkis of Welco Realty served as the broker for HomeGoods in the transaction. A grand opening was held in September.
In addition to providing full-service management and marketing for the center, Levin also served as construction manager for development of the new retail space. Additionally, Levin directed the process to secure the land development appraisals for the project. Steven Barthel, Levin’s vice-president of construction, oversaw all approvals and construction.
The Shoppes at Flemington is owned by New York based Garrison Investment Group.
When The Mall at Bay Plaza opens in the summer of 2014 it will be the first en- closed anchored fashion mall built in New York City in over 40 years. This first-class, suburban-style fashion mall will showcase over 100 national fashion stores and restaurants. Tenants such as H&M, Victoria’s Secret, Aeropostale, The Gap, Express and American Eagle will be joining anchors Macy’s and JCPenney. The Mall will encompass a total of over 780,000 s/f of retail space. This will include an outdoor village area, a complete food court and parking for over 2,600 cars. This $300MM+ project promises to be the crown jewel of retail for the Bronx-Westchester corridor.
The Mall at Bay Plaza is a unique combination of extraordinary visibility, accessibility and immense population density. The site has access from both its feeder highways, I-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, carrying a total of over 250,000 cars per day. Located in close proxim ity to the Bronx/Westchester border, the total immediate trade area has an incredible population of approximately 1.4 million people. The mall is being built adjacent to the existing 1.3 mil- lion s/f Bay Plaza Shopping Center, already the largest and one of the most successful shopping centers in New York. When the mall is built the GLA of the entire complex will be well over 2 million square feet.
When it came to choosing the design, the developer wanted to make a statement and create nothing less then the definitive New York City retail project of this generation. The design is meant to evoke a classical timeless feel, and balance that with state-of-the-art amenities not seen in any malls in the area. With that in mind Los Angeles–based architect Altoon Partners was chosen. Already renowned for designing world-class malls in China and Russia, it succeeded in bringing that vision to life.
All the components of a wildly successful project are in place, from a stellar location to significant retailer interest to complete community and political backing. The Mall at Bay Plaza is certain to be a welcome addition to the New York City retail landscape.
1) 255 Greenwich Street, New York, NY
Welco Realty, Inc., based in New Rochelle, New York represented Fairway Supermarkets at 255 Greenwich (Murray Hill Section), the building that had been known as 75 Park Place until it was rebranded in an effort to attract a big-box retailer.
Fairway Market, which launched its first store on the Upper West Side in the 1930s, is coming to the World Trade Center neighborhood. The high-end grocery chain just signed a lease for a jumbo store of more than 52,000 square feet at 255 Greenwich St. at the corner of Murray Street, two blocks north of the WTC. The new Fairway will have more than 10,000 square feet on the ground floor and the rest in the concourse, with a main entrance on Greenwich and Murray streets. The new downtown store is set to open next year.
(2) DSW Plaza, Lake Grove, NY (Long Island)
DSW Plaza is located in Lake Grove, New York directly across the regional enclosed Smith Haven Mall. Other major tenants in the center are Babies & Toys R Us, DSW & Golfsmith. Additional tenants to be announced shortly.
For more information about Fairway Supermarkets, contact Mr. Jerry Welkis at jwelkis@welcorealty.com or Allen Cooperman at allen.s.cooperman@gmail.com.
Welco has also arranged lease signings for the following tenants:
- BJ’s in Kearny, New Jersey for an 87,000 s.f. store. The development will have additional retail space and will have easements between two other major centers. One anchored by Shoprite Supermarket and the other anchored by Kmart and Modell’s Sporting Goods. Planned opening for BJ’s is 2015.
- Med Express at the following locations:
- Watchung, NJ
- Springfield, NJ – 200 Route 22 (4,620 s.f.)
- Lodi, NJ – 184 Essex Street (5,074 s.f.)
- Totowa, NJ
- Title Boxing Club at the following locations:
- East Rutherford, NJ – Liberty Commons (4,620 s.f.)
- Nanuet, NY – The Mall at 59 (4,400 s.f.)
- TJMaxx – Abill Plaza, Totowa, NJ
- Once Upon a Child – Wick Shopping Plaza, Edison, NJ
- Vitamin Shoppe – Wayne, NJ (3,956 s.f.)