Urstadt Biddle Buys Three Retail Properties for Nearly $17M

The largest property acquired is the Gristede's Shopping Center on Boston Post Road in Pelham Manor. The property, which totals approximately 25,000 sf, has strong demographics and quality tenancy, company officials state. In addition to the Gristede's grocery chain, the Bank of America and Dunkin Donuts are tenants at the center. The property is nearly fully leased, with just 1,500 sf available, says James Aries, VP of acquisition and leasing.

The Flushing properties--at Main Street and Melbourne Avenue and on 72nd Street and Aguilar Avenue--each total approximately 12,000 sf. Both are fully leased to a total of more than 20 neighborhood retailers. The three properties were built in the 1960s and contain a total of 47,300 sf of leaseable space.

"The Pelham shopping center is very well located and we believe a facade renovation will enable us to achieve higher rents over time," says Urstadt Biddle Properties president Willing Biddle. "The Flushing properties were part of the portfolio and are well-located block front strips of stores fully leased to local retailers." He adds that the Flushing neighborhood is "a stable densely populated urban area where there is a high demand for stores."

Aries adds that the Pelham and Flushing acquisitions presented an opportunity to "acquire quality retail properties in our core market." Urstadt Biddle Properties has a retail portfolio consisting of 37 properties totaling 3.7 million sf of space.