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BRONX, NY-White Plains-based Acadia Realty Trust, through its Fund II acquisition venture and P/A Associates acquired a 223,000-sf office across from the newly constructed courthouse complex here for $49 million. The site at 260 East 161st St. is fully occupied by the city, the state and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Acadia intends to redevelop a portion of the office space into retail. According to Jon Grisham, the firm's vice president and chief accounting officer, the focus will be on bringing in retailers that will service the area's workforce. The firm anticipates having a substantial percentage of the long-term income derived from retail leases.

The rest of the site will be upgraded to accommodate future office requirement generated by its proximity to the 750,000-sf courthouse that this scheduled to open next year. In total, Acadia will invest between $10 million and $20 million toward the effort. "The Bronx in general, and specifically 161st street, continues to be under-retailed and ready for additional high quality retail redevelopments," says Kenneth F. Bernstein, Acadia's president and chief executive officer. Grisham notes that the REIT is still searching for additional redevelopment opportunities in the boroughs.