Ashkenazy Buys Two Shopping Centers

Sean Ryan is associate editor of Real Estate New Jersey.

RAMSEY, NJ-Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. has acquired two shopping centers in the Garden State. The company picked up the Triangle 17 Shopping Center on the Route 17 corridor here and the Washington Bridge Shopping Center in Fort Lee.

Triangle 17, which sold for $19.6 million, is a 90,631-sf complex 100% leased by Pathmark, Blockbuster Video, Hollywood Tans and Supercuts. The seller, Emmes Partners V, was represented by the CB Richard Ellis Tri-State Investment Team.

“This transaction was highly competitive,” says Jeffrey Dunne, leader of the CBRE team. “More than 20 offers were procured from various capital sources including publicly traded REITs, pension fund advisors, major national retail owners and private local investors.”

“Triangle 17 Shopping Center has all the qualities we look for in retail property,’ says Ben Ashkenazy, CEO of the New York-based acquisition firm. “It is a well located, in-fill location with the opportunity for substantial rent growth.”

The company acquired the 50,000-sf Washington Bridge Shopping Center, near the George Washington Bridge, from an unnamed seller for an undisclosed price. The center also has office space on its second floor.

“Washington Bridge Shopping Center sees strong sales from tenants such as Walgreens,” says Ashkenazy. “We see a strong value-added opportunity by upgrading the tenant mix with a new breed of retailer paying market rents.” Steve Siegel of Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan branch represented the seller.