By Joshua Burd
International supermarket chain Lidl has purchased a former Acme store in Bergenfield, providing the operator with an expansion opportunity in northern New Jersey.
Brokerage firm Ripco Real Estate and Kampler Advisory Group announced last week that the German chain had closed on the site, located at 80 New Bridge Road, for an undisclosed amount. Klingensmith Associates LLC sold the property, which has been vacant since late 2017 and includes 5.5 acres and a 54,500-square-foot store.
Ripco represented Klingensmith, with Kampler serving as a strategic consultant.
“Thanks to our expansive reach, we sourced a variety of users and buyers and generated significant interest from global and national retailers and developers who were interested in repositioning the asset for residential and mixed-use,” said Florian Suserman, managing partner at Ripco’s New Jersey office. “By the end of a fairly quick process, we and consultant Nina L. Kampler, who also strategically advised ownership, felt that Lidl made the most sense from an economic and community impact standpoint.”
Lidl, which has more than 10,000 stores across 28 countries, has yet to announce when it will open its doors at 80 New Bridge Road, but Ripco noted that the grocer has expanded its presence significantly since entering the U.S. in mid-2017.
“Bergenfield, Teaneck and the surrounding area offer a viable market and wide-customer base for a grocer like Lidl; this pluralistic community is an extraordinarily strong consumer demographic,” said Kampler, founder of Kampler Advisory Group. “Ownership is pleased with the outcome of the transaction; it was a pleasure to work closely with Florian and the Ripco team to find a creative solution for this property in today’s often-challenged retail real estate landscape.”
