March Construction has broken ground on a new 12,600-square-foot retail center at 1882 Hooper Ave. in Toms River — Courtesy: March Construction/R.J. Brunelli & Co. LLC
By Joshua Burd
Construction is underway on nearly 13,000 square feet of new retail space in Toms River, where a brokerage team is now marketing units that could open as soon as next summer.
Agents with R.J. Brunelli & Co. LLC are working alongside the developer, Wayne-based March Construction, to attract tenants to the property at 1882 Hooper Ave. Located in the township’s Silverton section, the 12,600-square-foot retail center broke ground in mid-September after securing all municipal approvals, providing an option for a single user or multiple tenants.
Brokers are targeting categories such as restaurants, day care, medical or dental offices, eyewear, bakeries, coffee shops, salons, cellular and jewelry, according to a news release. In the case of restaurants, the site can accommodate a drive-thru on an endcap location.
“This easily accessible site offers high visibility on the ‘going-home’ side of Hooper Ave., a four-lane highway which delivers a daily traffic count exceeding 38,200,” said Mario Brunelli, a vice president and principal at Old Bridge-based R.J. Brunelli.
March Construction President Lou March Jr. expects to turn the building over to tenants for store build-outs in March 2022 and is targeting a grand opening for next summer, the news release said. Occupiers will benefit from a site that has multiple access points aside from Hooper Avenue, including rear access from Hinds Road and from a jug-handle at the Church Street intersection.
All told, the property will serve a primary market of 61,507 residents within a three-mile radius, with average household income in that area exceeding $97,800, Brunelli said. He added that the site, which adjoins a freestanding Walgreens and is surrounded by a host of prominent retailers, also benefits from an uptick in seasonal traffic during the summer months, due to Silverton’s location along the water.
“Beyond the residential component, as the Ocean County seat, Toms River provides this site with a robust daytime population of 7,182 within a mile and 51,607 within three miles,” Brunelli said, noting that the figures include employees and students at Ocean County College and other major employers as the county government, Hackensack Meridian Health and the Toms River Regional School District.
R.J. Brunelli also represented March Construction on its acquisition of the site, while Michael DeGeorge of DeGeorge Realty acted as the seller’s broker, the news release said. And the assignment follows the successful lease-up of another March project, The Parke at Hamburg in Wayne, which opened last year with R.J. Brunelli as its agent.
The fully leased, 50,150-square-foot property features tenants such as Trader Joe’s, Ulta, The Paper Store, Everbrook Academy and Habit Burger, with Panera Bread soon to come.
“Following our success in Wayne, we look forward to R.J. Brunelli delivering another strong tenant mix for this smaller-scale project in this prime Ocean County location,” March said.
