The Hills Village Center at 550 Hills Drive in Bedminster — Courtesy: JLL
(Editor’s note: This story was updated Dec. 12 with additional information from Longpoint Partners, the buyer.)
By Joshua Burd
A global investment manager has sold a more than 110,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Bedminster, brokers with JLL announced Monday.
The buyer, Longpoint Partners, paid an undisclosed sum for The Hills Village Center at 550 Hills Drive, with plans to manage the property under its newly unveiled Lena Centers brand. The 110,453-square-foot complex is 89.3 percent occupied with a 4.7-year weighted average lease term, the brokers said, noting that it’s nestled within The Hills residential development.
JLL senior managing directors Jose Cruz and Kevin O’Hearn and Director J.B. Bruno represented the unidentified seller and procured the buyer.
“The Hills Village Center garnered strong investor interest, including numerous institutions and REITs, given its strong in-place cash flow from credit tenants and upside potential through lease-up of available space,” Cruz said. “We’re pleased to have facilitated this significant transaction in one of New Jersey’s most affluent and desirable submarkets.”
Separately, Boston-based Longpoint announced that The Hills Village Center was one of two new acquisitions with a combined value of $61.9 million. It also purchased the 101,269-square-foot El Monte Shopping Plaza in Phoenix.
“We are proud to have expanded our Lena Centers portfolio with these acquisitions in our target markets,” said Dwight Angelini, co-founder and managing partner of Longpoint. “Both properties are optimally located and well-occupied with high-quality retailers and businesses that cater to the needs of each local community. Our strategy is to create culturally relevant shopping centers for our communities.”
Built in 1988 on nearly 13 acres, The Hills Village Center sits along Route 202/206 and benefits from strong visibility and convenient access to interstates 287 and 78, JLL said. Kings Food Market anchors the property, which attracts more than 380,000 visits annually and is also home to tenants such as CVS, Cold Stone Creamery, PNC Bank, Starbucks, Great Clips and Orange Theory.
JLL added that The Hills consists of 5,548 households, while Bedminster has a growing population and an average household income of $180,233.
