Bentall Kennedy Buys Kearny Square Retail Center

KEARNY, NJ—Bentall Kennedy’s US Core Fund purchased Kearny Square, a 138,895-square-foot class A retail center anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club in Kearny, NJ from the original developer.

Cushman & Wakefield’s East Rutherford, NJ-based Investment Sales Team, including Andy Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Seth Pollack, and Frank DiTommaso II represented the seller and procured the buyer.

“Kearny Square is distinguished by its location within Kearny’s redevelopment district, a UEZ Zone that offers a variety of sales and use tax exemptions and other incentives,” says Merin. “The area is also being transformed into a vibrant residential and retail neighborhood, with a 280-unit residential project under construction directly across from Kearny Square that will provide new and attractive residential apartments to the area and will bring in additional young professionals and other consumers.”

Kearny Square was delivered in 2016 with frontage along heavily trafficked Passaic Avenue, and is shadow-anchored by ShopRite, New Jersey’s dominant supermarket chain. The property is situated just one mile north of I-280 and less than five minutes from downtown Newark and the burgeoning Harrison area. At the time of the sale, Kearny Square was fully leased to 13 tenants. The center’s nationally-recognized tenant roster consists of fast-casual eateries and personal well-being services, and a wholesale club with a grocer, making Kearny Square uniquely resistant to e-commerce competition.

“The urban infill location of Kearny Square is a perfect fit,” says Whitmer. “The immediate area has a dense and growing population but has lacked retail services and amenities. Kearny Square fulfills this need and is well-positioned for long-term success as it continues to service this rapidly growing community.”

The property’s submarket consists of approximately 9.7 million square feet in 1,273 buildings located in Hudson County. It is the fourth largest retail submarket in Northern New Jersey and has the second highest occupancy with just 3.1% of available space, below the 4.9% vacancy rate for Northern New Jersey overall.

“The superior quality of this property and the long-term growth potential of the area was a major attraction,” says DiTommaso. “Of equal importance was the excellent job that the developer did positioning the property as a dominant retail center, and the diligent and detailed activity on the part of the buyer.”