216-244 Bloomfield Ave. in Bloomfield — Courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
A grocery-anchored shopping center in Bloomfield is on the market for sale, boasting full occupancy and a location that’s adjacent to more than 300 luxury apartments.
According to JLL, which represents the would-be seller, Aldi has operated at 216-244 Bloomfield Ave. on a long-term ground lease since 2016. Brokers noted that the 38,399-square-foot property is also home to national tenants such as Chipotle, T-Mobile, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger, with an average weighted remaining lease term of 7.1 years.
JLL’s Jose Cruz, J.B. Bruno, Kevin O’Hearn and Michael Zlotnick are marketing the property with support from Max Custer of the firm’s debt and equity team and leasing brokers David Townes and Alana Friedman.
“The Bloomfield Aldi grocery-anchored shopping center presents a compelling opportunity for investors to capitalize on a stabilized grocery-anchored retail asset with strong in-place cash flow in a densely populated, infill location,” JLL wrote in its offering materials. The team added that the grocer at the site is the top-ranked Aldi store in New Jersey, citing Placer data, while the other tenants come from a mix of sectors such as food and beverage, medical and clothing.
Its developer completed the retail property at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Watsessing Avenue in 2015 and 2016, JLL said, noting that the center was originally part of a 16-acre site but was subdivided into two lots. The remaining site acreage, which shares a common entrance, was redeveloped into a 336-unit luxury apartment property known as The Grove at One 92.
Roughly one-quarter of a mile away and adjacent to The Grove at One 92 is another property known as The Grove at Watsessing, which has another 344 recently completed rentals.
“These two communities create a built-in customer base for the Bloomfield Aldi grocery-anchored shopping center, given the convenient walkability and direct access to the property,” JLL wrote.
Located on 3.2 acres, the center has some 300 feet of frontage along Watsessing Avenue and around 565 feet on Bloomfield Avenue, JLL said. It’s less than a mile from the Newark Light Rail’s Grove Street station and NJ Transit’s Watsessing station.
