BLOOMSBURG, PA-Port Washington, NY-based Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of Columbia Mall, a 408,000-sf enclosed shopping center, for approximately $14 million, or about $34 per sf. Leo Ullman, Cedar's CEO, previously identified this property as a "redevelopment candidate," and says the company hopes to announce "some preliminary redevelopment and re-tenanting plans during the next few months."

The property, which was built in 1988 and renovated a decade later, has a vacancy of approximately 100,000 sf, including a former Ames store. The current anchors are a 64,000-sf Sears, 45,000-sf Bon Ton and 34,000-sf JC Penney. It is Cedar's 12th acquisition in Pennsylvania within the past six months and in an area Ullman calls the "sweet spot" of the REIT's central Pennsylvania portfolio. When the acquisition was first announced, Ullman told GlobeSt.com that redevelopment "could probably be done for less than $20 million or so." Michael Dillon of the Chicago office of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, which is identified only as a "major developer." Cedar funded the transaction from its secured revolving credit facility.