700 and 3025 Paramus Park in Paramus — Courtesy: Heidenberg Properties Group
By Joshua Burd
An investment group has acquired a more than 181,000-square-foot retail asset alongside the Paramus Park Mall and near the crossroads of Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway.
Brokers with CBRE represented the seller in the transaction at 700 and 3025 Paramus Park, whose anchors include a 100,223-square-foot Stew Leonard’s Supermarket and a 21,934-square-foot Atlantic Health Systems facility. The buyer — a joint venture of Heidenberg Properties Group, Red Starr Investments, Norse Realty Group and DAG Paramus — paid $38 million in the deal as part of a plan to enhance the 67 percent leased property.
Vacancies include 59,000 square feet of upper-level space that Heidenberg said is ideal for experiential uses and has the potential for highly visible signage and exposure from the Parkway, according to a news release. It plans to create vertical access to and from the adjoining Paramus Park Mall, hoping to create further operational synergies between the two properties.
CBRE’s Jeff Dunne and David Gavin were marketing the 181,150-square-foot property for sale last year. Capital advisers with Ackman-Ziff arranged the joint venture and financing, with Michael Kaider and Keegan Barrett of CBRE’s National Retail Partners group also serving as brokers in the transaction.
“Acquiring Paramus Park South was an opportunity to add a fantastic location to our portfolio that is in our backyard,” said Robert Heidenberg, CEO and president of Heidenberg Properties. “Not only do we acquire a shopping center in one of the best retail markets in the United States — we add another dominant grocer in Stew Leonard’s as well as the ability to add value through strategic lease up of the upper level. We look forward to the continued evolution of Paramus Park South by adding dynamic uses and solidifying Paramus Park South as a compelling draw in the market.”
In a news release, Heidenberg noted that Paramus Park South occupies a 14-acre site 23 miles northwest of New York City. Shoppers can access the property from Route 17, the firm said. while it has direct access to the neighboring Paramus Park Mall, whose more than 60 tenants include Macy’s, L.L. Bean, Old Navy, Uniqlo, Ulta Beauty, and Sephora.
Heidenberg added that Westfield’s 2.1 million-square-foot Garden State Plaza is three miles to the south, while Bergen Town Center is also minutes away. It also cited an affluent trade area in Paramus that includes nearly 422,00 residents with average incomes surpassing $150,000 annually, as well as new multifamily projects that are both approved and under construction in the Route 4 and Route 17 corridors with the potential to drive further foot traffic.
Heidenberg Properties, Norse Realty Group and the principals of DAG Paramus have acquired five assets together over the past 12 years, the news release said. The Paramus Park deal marks the team’s first transaction with Red Starr Investments.
