Paramount Realty Buys One of NJ's Most Visited Shopping Centers for $100M

It was also the largest open-air shopping center deal since 2017 in the state.

Paramount Realty has acquired one of the busiest shopping centers in New Jersey for $100 million.

Hamilton Marketplace was deemed the “largest single-asset open-air shopping center transaction” to be completed since 2017 in the state, Institutional Property Advisors, which brokered the deal, said in a statement. The last time a retail center went over that threshold in New Jersey was when Centerton Square traded for $130 million.

Brad Nathanson, IPA executive director, said that the offering brought interest from private and institutional capital that he hasn’t seen since pre-pandemic levels.

The Hamilton Township shopping center, which is headlined by a 65,155-square-foot ShopRite Supermarket, was first constructed in phases in the early 2000s. Other stores in Hamilton Marketplace include Barnes & Noble, Michaels, Old Navy, Ulta, Burlington, Kohl’s, Ross, Staples, and PetSmart.

But most importantly, the fundamentals of the shopping center are strong.

“Hamilton Marketplace is in the top 1% of most-visited shopping centers in the nation and one of the most-visited open-air shopping centers in New Jersey,” JP Colussi, IPA senior director, said.

“Its high anchor retention and chain-leading sales volumes of top retailers make it one of the nation’s best-performing grocery-anchored power centers. Of the 17 original anchors, 13 are still in place, and in the past three years, nine anchor tenants exercised their contractual obligations.”

Also, Nathanson noted that top-tier power centers have fared well thanks to scarce construction in recent years. That’s led to high retainment costs and strong rent appreciation.

Moreover, Kyle Stonis, SVP at Matthews Real Estate Investment Services, recently told GlobeSt. that investment appetite for both anchored and unanchored shopping centers is the strongest it has been in years.

Another major shopping in New Jersey, Monmouth Mall, is getting a $415 million re-development from Kushner Companies to include new retail space and residential units.

IPA represented the seller, SITE Centers, on the Hamilton Marketplace deal.