LEWISTOWN, PA—The Bon-Ton at Lewistown Mall, a 46,660-square-foot free-standing store on a 0.83-acre lot, is one of 10 former Bon-Ton stores facing a bankruptcy auction January 28. Real estate advisory and brokerage firm A&G Realty Partners will auction the 10 department store properties.
“Downtown Lewistown has seen a resurgence of young entrepreneurs opening businesses,” says Michael Jerbich, a Chicago-based principal at A&G. “Local officials are committed to finding alternate uses for this space.”
The stores being auctioned range in size from 45,000 to 165,000 square feet, in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois. They were formerly operated under the Bergner's, Herberger's, Carson's, Younkers, Elder-Beerman and Bon-Ton banners.
Available at auction are three properties located in the new Qualified Opportunity Zones created by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, says Emilio Amendola, co-president of A&G Realty Partners, which is headquartered in Melville, NY. Those properties are in Iowa and Minnesota.
“We're seeing massive interest in these incentives among high-net-worth investors and diverse real estate funds alike,” he says. “They offer capital gains tax reductions of as high as 15 percent, and holding for a full 10 years can yield a capital gains tax deduction of 100 percent. On top of that, many Opportunity Zones nationwide are in gentrifying areas with strong growth potential.”
In May 2018, A&G was retained to dispose all real estate assets of The Bon-Ton Stores, on behalf of a joint venture between Great American Group, Tiger Capital Group and Bon-Ton's second lien noteholders. The assets included seven ground leases, 194 leased locations and 23 fee-owned properties.
“To date, 13 fee-owned and seven leased properties have been successfully sold to storage users, developers/investors, fitness centers, a casino, home furnishings retailers, and healthcare users, to name a few,” Jerbich says. “The large-format spaces on auction here are rife for reinvention and repurposing, and the sale also represents a tremendous opportunity for market penetration in these areas.”
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Steve Lubetkin
Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].
