Cedar Realty Trust Deal Advances Ward 7 Redevelopment Efforts
The Port Washington, NY-based REIT acquired a 99-year leasehold in the 62,000-square-foot shopping center at Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road that includes a purchase option.
WASHINGTON, DC—Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. has acquired a long-term leasehold interest in the Senator Square Shopping Center here that it says will help improve its ongoing redevelopment efforts in the Ward 7 neighborhood in Northeast Washington, DC.
The Port Washington, NY-based REIT acquired a 99-year leasehold in the 62,000-square-foot shopping center at Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road that includes a purchase option. No financial terms of the transaction were released.
The company states that the deal continues its investment efforts in the D.C. market and in Ward 7, in particular, which began with the acquisition of the East River Park Shopping Center in December 2015. With its Senator Square leasehold acquisition, Cedar believes it will be able to “meaningfully expand and improve its redevelopment efforts in this important urban neighborhood.”
Bruce J. Schanzer, Cedar Realty Trust president and CEO, says of the deal, “Situated directly across the street from our East River Park Shopping Center (150,000 square feet) at the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road, Senator Square is the perfect complement to our existing investment in this exciting part of the district.”
Cedar Realty Trust EVP and COO Robin Zeigler, adds, “In and around both properties, we plan to add to the neighborhood’s vitality with activities, events, art, and other outreach to complement our redevelopment efforts. We look forward to partnering with the residents through our investing activities.”
Cedar Realty, which focuses on the ownership, operation and redevelopment of grocery-anchored shopping centers in high-density urban markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston, has a portfolio (excluding properties treated as “held for sale”) that totals 59 properties, with approximately 8.7 million square feet of gross leasable area.
As of June 30, 2018, Carll’s Corner, located in Bridgeton, NJ, Maxatawny Marketplace in Maxatawny, PA, and West Bridgewater Plaza in West Bridgewater, MA, were classified as “real estate held for sale.”
As part of its second quarter report released earlier this month, Cedar Realty Trust reported it had signed 35 new and renewal leases for 267,200 square feet in the quarter. Its total portfolio was 91.7% leased and its same-property portfolio was 92.0% leased at the end of the second quarter.