Levin Secures Local Grocer to Anchor Clifton Plaza

July 21, 2011 - PRLog -- Compare Supermarket has signed on to anchor Clifton Plaza on Route 46 in Clifton, announced retail real estate services firm Levin Management Corporation. The 16,000-square-foot lease commitment and Clifton Plaza's transition to a grocery-anchored property coincide with Levin's renovation/expansion at the 80,127-square-foot shopping center.

Levin's Barry Greenberg represented his firm, which serves as Clifton Plaza's exclusive leasing and managing agent, and worked directly with the tenant to negotiate the long-term lease. The Clifton supermarket represents the second New Jersey location for Compare, a 22-year-old independent chain with more than 40 stores in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the East Coast.

A full-service grocer, Compare Supermarket customizes its stores, based on location, to respond to local consumer demand. The Clifton location will feature sizable meat and produce departments - larger than those typically found in a store of this size. Compare also is renowned for carrying a wide variety of international foods.

"The addition of Compare Supermarket to the neighborhood adds food-shopping convenience for local residents," Greenberg noted. "It also illustrates an interesting trend: the return of the neighborhood grocery. The industry has seen an increasing number of junior supermarket leases in the 10,000- to 20,000-square-foot range, in locations that are usually at least two or three miles from large format grocers."

The lease with Compare Supermarket comes in the midst of a renovation/expansion at Clifton Plaza, a highly visible property at the intersection of Route 46 and Van Houten Avenue, approximately one-half mile from the Garden State Parkway and Route 3. Levin is updating the center's façade and common areas, has added one pad site, and is preparing to add as much as 16,000 additional square feet of GLA.

Valley National Bank Relocates Within Clifton Plaza
The signing of Compare Supermarketfollows the recent relocation and reopening of long-time tenant Valley National Bank to a newly constructed 4,050-square-foot pad site building. The demolition of the bank's previous building will further enable Levin to add a new, larger building of approximately 16,000 square feet.

"The new site provides Valley National Bank with a prominent location, high visibility, and a brand-new state-of-the-art facility," said Greenberg. "Valley National has been on-site since 1997, and the decision to remain and grow at Clifton Plaza is a great vote of confidence in the shopping center."

Additional current tenants include Big Lots, Dollar Tree, Game Stop, Radio Shack, and a variety of other retail and service tenants. The property, a long-favored retail destination, is situated in a densely populated market and boasts a daily traffic count of 68,470 vehicles. Median and average household incomes at one, three and five miles increased at least 20 percent between 2000 and 2009, and are projected to grow by between 11.7 percent and 13 percent by 2014.

"Clifton Plaza's renovation has just produced another benefit: the shopping center is now grocery anchored," noted Matthew K. Harding, Levin's president and chief operating officer, "making it even more responsive to the needs of the neighborhood. Additionally, modernizing and refreshing the property, allows us to further upgrade and expand the tenant mix."

The Clifton Plaza project is the latest in a number of Levin renovation and repositioning projects taking place in the Tri-State region. In fact, the North Plainfield, N.J., firm recently was named among America's top 10 redevelopers in Chain Store Age's November 2010 issue. Recent projects include the $15-million-plus renovation and retenanting of Post Road Plaza in Pelham Manor, N.Y. Levin also completed a value-oriented re-tenanting at Hickory Plaza in Hickory, N.C. Currently, the firm is in the midst of a $10-million renovation and expansion of Hamilton Plaza in Hamilton Twp., N.J. in conjunction with the expansion of long-time anchor ShopRite.

Levin offers a full range of services for its clients, including leasing, property management, accounting, construction management, marketing and risk management. The company's management and leasing portfolio includes more than 90 diverse retail properties totaling more than 12.5 million square feet in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. Properties range from neighborhood, community, lifestyle and power centers, to enclosed malls, downtown stores and mixed-use projects.

Founded in 1952, Levin is one of the nation's leading retail real estate services firms, with an owner's approach to the business. The company has earned a long list of coveted awards over the years. In 2008, Levin was named "Firm of the Year" by the Institute of Real Estate Management, New Jersey Chapter No. 1; one of America's five fastest growing real estate managers by Chain Store Age; and Top Retail Company by the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal. Most recently, Commercial Property Executive ranked Levin number 30 on the list of Top U.S. Real Estate Companies in the January 2011 issue.

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About Levin Management Corporation: Founded in 1952, Levin Management Corporation is one of the nation's leading retail real estate services firms, offering management, leasing and many other services to clients throughout the northeastern United States. Founded by a pioneering real estate developer, Levin Management takes an owner's approach to the business. The company's management and leasing portfolio consists of more than 90 diverse retail properties totaling 12.5 million square feet. Properties range from downtown stores to lifestyle centers, and from neighborhood and community centers to power centers, in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. Other services include accounting, construction management, marketing and risk management.