Expansion Adds 50% to Centennial's Retail Portfolio

The acquisition earlier this month of the operations contract for Marketfair, an enclosed lifestyle center in Princeton, NJ by Dallas-based Centennial caps a year-long expansion spree by the owner and operator of malls and shopping centers.

In 2022, Centennial has grown its footprint from 15M SF to 23M SF and counting.

The list of retail assets acquired by Centennial this year is a long one, including the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, MI; The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, TX; and Westland Mall in Hialeah, FL.

Pursuing a strategy, adopted during the pandemic, of focusing on properties that offered new customer experiences, in August Centennial acquired the operating platform of Bayer Properties, a Birmingham, AL-based developer of upscale lifestyle centers.

Bayer’s properties include the Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville and The Summit at Fritz Farm in Lexington, KY. Centennial

“Bayer has been an owner, operator and developer of open-air retail space for almost three decades. It’s merchandising, placemaking, design and attention to detail are exceptional,” said Whitney Livingston, president of Centennial, in a statement.

This year, Centennial also has been awarded third-party management contracts for The Promenade Shops in Center Valley, PA and The Shops at Montebello in California.

Centennial took over MarketFair’s management, leasing, tenant coordination, marketing, and accounting services at the beginning of December. Tenants at the center include Anthropologie, Athleta, Free People, Lovesac, Pottery Barn, West Elm, AMC Theatres, Seasons 52 and Tommy’s Tavern & Tap.

According to Livingston, Centennial has been targeting the Mid-Atlantic market for rapid growth. Besides Market Fair and The Promenade Shops, the company also manages Marlton Square in New Jersey.

In October, Centennial announced a significant expansion of its “Hawthorn 2.0” transformative redevelopment plan for Hawthorn Mall, a super-regional shopping center in the suburb of Vernon Hills, just north of Chicago.

The expanded plan calls for the relocation of 250 luxury apartments to create a larger outdoor public plaza to enhance the customer experience and increase pedestrian access to the mall; a new grand entrance for the shopping center; and significantly more retail, restaurant and entertainment space surrounding the exterior of the growing open-air “Hawthorn Row” integrated streetscape to further optimize the mall’s platform.

“The expansion of our Hawthorn 2.0 plans enhances the original vision we had for the center as a master-planned, mixed-use destination,” said Sam Whitebread, VP of Development, Centennial. “Now nearly three times the size of the original project, Hawthorn 2.0 will offer a best-in-class community with a robust mix of modern rental properties.”

The expanded version of Hawthorn Mall will include “The Domaine,” the center’s 311-unit luxury apartment development housed in two four-story buildings on the east side of the mall, as well as an additional building with 250 luxury apartments, for a total of 561 luxury units.