Shopping Centers Today

DEC 2016

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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124 S C T / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 ➥ Sales of Philadelphia urban retail properties are down from the record high reached in early 2015. Nonetheless, sales totaled $111.5 million over the past year through the second quarter, still 18 percent higher than the 2008 peak reached in the previous cycle, according to CBRE. The highest- profile trade was the combined sale of 1503- 1505 Walnut Street and 1520 Chestnut to Post Bros. These properties sold for $45 million, or $1,098 per square foot, the third- highest amount paid on a per square foot basis. And the prices appear to be justified by skyrocketing rents, CBRE reports. The average prime retail rent in Philadelphia grew by 87.5 percent from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2016, the firm reports. W hen Leon Sullivan, a civil-rights leader in Philadelphia, spearheaded the development of an inner-city shopping center near Temple University almost 50 years ago, he wanted not just to provide basic services but also to give black people locally the chance to invest in their community. In doing this he made history by establishing the first black-owned-and-operated shopping center in the U.S. In mid-September, community leaders unveiled a marker from the Pennsylvania Historical Commission recognizing the significance of the property, called Sullivan Progress Plaza, at the southeast corner of North Broad and West Oxford streets, in North Philadelphia."From its conception, the shopping center was about providing services to the community," said Daryl DeBrest, a board member of landlord Progress Investment Associates and facilities manager of the 94,000-square-foot center. "We have the community, but we're also surrounded by the college campus. So we have traffic all day, every day." After undergoing a $17 million renovation that added a very needed 46,000-square-foot, 24- hour Fresh Grocer store in 2009, Sullivan Progress Plaza is once again in transition mode. The project, which includes second-story office space, has roughly 9,400 square feet of retail space available as a result of the RadioShack bankruptcy and the vacancies of other tenants, DeBrest says. Trend Eye Care, one of the property's newest tenants, moved into 2,600 square feet about a year ago. Other businesses there include Payless ShoeSource, Sherwin-Williams, SunRay Drugs and Medical, and some banks. Jewish Children and Family Service is a tenant too. The shopping center's mission to improve the community prevents it from considering such tenants as bars or liquor or tobacco stores, DeBrest says. But given the lack of restaurants on North Broad Street, the landlord would consider bringing in an upscale restaurant that has a small percentage of alcohol sales, he says. A clothing store is being sought as well. Sullivan Progress Plaza's location on North Broad Street should pique the interest of potential tenants, according to DeBrest. Subways,buses and a bike-sharing station serve this major north-south thoroughfare. The North Broad Renaissance, a nonprofit organization representing residents and property and business owners, is advocating economic development, historic preservation and other opportunities along North Broad Street, says DeBrest. Among other initiatives, the group is laying out a five-year plan to generate more health-related businesses around the Temple First black-owned center gets historic recognition By Joe Gose Progress noted Philadelphia artist Candy Coated collaborated with neighborhood residents to create murals that cele- brate the historical significance of North Philadelphia's Sullivan Progress Plaza. The murals are part of a civic program called Mural Arts of Philadelphia S I T E S & C I T I E S

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