Shops at Nanuet 95% Pre-Leased

NANUET, NY-Executives from Simon Property Group staged a press briefing on Wednesday to update the construction and leasing activity at what will be the Shops at Nanuet, which will open in October.

The new open-air center will likely be fully leased at its grand opening, a stark change from its former self—the Nanuet Mall, whose incredibly high vacancies forced the owner to redevelop the Rockland County-based property.

The 750,000-square-foot  shopping center will replace the former 950,000-square-foot Nanuet Mall, which was closed to the public on Feb. 1, 2012 and was subsequently demolished with the exception of its two anchor stores—Macy's and Sears, which have remained open during construction. At the time of its closure, the Nanuet Mall was virtually vacant, having seen most of its tenants either close or relocate to the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack.

At the briefing, Tom Schneider, executive vice president of development for Simon Property Group, said that pre-leasing of the project has been very successful. He calculates that the Shops at Nanuet is approximately 95% leased.

Schneider announced several new lease signings at the property, 24 Hour Fitness of San Ramon, CA, which will occupy 45,073 square feet and retailer Coach, which will have a 5,000-square-foot location as the Shops at Nanuet. Previously announced deals include a 66,097-square-foot lease with Fairway Market and Regal Cinemas, which will be opening a 12-screen theater in approximately 55,000 square feet of space at the center.

In addition to the major tenants, the shopping center will also include approximately 185,000 square feet of retail and restaurants in 50 stores oriented around the center's “Fashion Drive.” More than 4,000 parking spaces will be at grade at various locations at center, which will not have any parking garage facilities. Schneider says that there are only four store locations that have yet to be leased and he expects the center to be fully leased at the time the facility opens in the fall.

“We are now a little over five months from opening and we couldn't be more excited about the product and about the reception in the local community and the retail community,” he says.

Schneider adds, “We are very pleased with the leasing effort. There will be some tenants that won't make the grand opening just because of their schedules.” However, he says that all stores will be open and operating by the spring of 2014.