Edens & Avant Buys Bishop's Corner for $25M

The purchase of Bishop's Corner at 345 North Main St. was a strategic buy for Columbia, SC-based Edens & Avant, which owns an adjoining 123,000-sf shopping center at 333 North Main St. Its newest asset consists of 75,000 sf of retail space and 55,000 sf of office space at the intersection of Route 44 and North Main Street.

CB Richard Ellis advised Summit Development in the transaction. Jeffrey Dunne and Ryan Bassett of CB Richard Ellis' New York Tri-State Investment Team worked on the assignment.

CB Richard Ellis officials say that a more than $4-million capital improvement program was recently completed at the property that included a complete reface to the facade and improvements to property mechanicals. A number of new tenants have recently inked leases at the property, including Petco for 17,300 sf of space and St. Francis Hospital for 6,253 sf of office space. The property was approximately 90% leased at the time of sale.

Other major tenants at Bishop's Corner are Macaroni Grille, which occupies 8,500 sf of space; iParty, which leases 9,774 sf of space; and Greater Hartford Women's Health Associates, which leases 6,253 sf of office space. Marshalls and Blockbuster Inc. are the largest tenants at Edens & Avant's adjacent 333 North Main St. property.

"Edens & Avant was the logical purchaser for this property due to their ownership position in the adjoining shopping center," Dunne says. "Bishop's Corner will offer Edens better signage opportunities for the redevelopment of their existing site and provide them with a stable cash flow anchored by numerous newly executed long-term leases."

Laura Woznitski, director of development for Summit Development, adds, "Our capital investment into the property has significantly revitalized the center and leasing activity has been brisk. Edens should fair well stabilizing the asset over time."