Y2 Men’s Clothing at 14 East Palisade Ave. — Courtesy: Ripco Real Estate
By Joshua Burd
Seven retailers have signed leases in downtown Englewood, committing to more than 26,000 square feet in total under a series of deals announced by Ripco Real Estate.
The firm said Tuesday that it represented the landlords in the transactions, which involved a mix of restaurant, lifestyle and apparel tenants. The deals are as follows:
- Chick-fil-A leased 4,077 square feet at 2 Nathaniel Place, backfilling a former Wendy’s space to open its first New Jersey location without a drive-through.
- Club Pilates leased a 2,100-square-foot former Verizon space at 19 West Palisade Ave.
- Y2 Men’s Clothing leased 1,850 square feet at 14 East Palisade Ave., a space previously home to a Papyrus store.
- Amazing Lash leased 1,900 square feet at 16 East Palisade Ave.
- GITO Women’s Clothing, which already had a presence in Englewood, committed to 2,545 square feet at 5 East Palisade Ave. and is expecting to open for Christmas.
- Poke Crew Restaurant leased 1,700 square feet in the former 23 South Boutique location at 1 East Palisade Ave. and is planning to open in early 2018.
- An undisclosed 12,000-square-foot tenant leased a former Victoria’s Secret space and the second floor at 17 West Palisade Ave.
“Englewood has a tremendous base to support retailers and restaurants,” Ripco’s Michael Rawlins said, citing the presence of 80,000 workers within three-mile radius, along with 152,000 residents with an average household income of $133,000 per year. “The downtown has terrific feeders with Grand Avenue bringing traffic from Route 4 and beyond and Palisades Avenue reaching the office population along Route 9W.”
Ripco’s downtown team includes Rawlins, Colby Piper and Curtis Nassau. Aside from working on behalf of the landlords, the firm also represented Club Pilates in its lease.
The team also noted that downtown Englewood is supported Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and anchored by the newly renovated and expanded ShopRite, as well as the Bergen Performing Arts Center, which has more than 250,000 visitors per year.
Piper, meantime, touted recent development nearby such as the Brownstone residential communities, along with “several new residential projects in various stages of development” and the possibility of a light rail coming to the city.
Nassau added: “At Ripco, we see ourselves in the marketing business. It’s been quintessential to our success in downtowns like Englewood.”
“With retailers more conservative than ever, the secret to leasing downtown space is threefold,” said Nassau, managing partner of Ripco’s New Jersey office. “It is imperative to drill down and truly understand market dynamics. It’s having the resources and network to reach retail decision-makers. And lastly, it’s the ability to make retailers understand why a particular site will be beneficial to their business.”
