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Retailers banking on mergers to land high-profile locations
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Wolfson-Verrichia Group, Inc. Steven B. Wolfson and Thomas F. Verrichia, both principals at Wolfson Verrichia Group,Inc., take pride in keeping history alive. Ratherthan erasing the historical structure of an old building, they embrace it. “The adaptive reuse of the historical buildings became a key component in developing our Main Street at Exton project. This aspect of the development allow us to take advantage of the historical structures by creating an environment of blending them with the new retail shops in a unique opportunity for the retailers such as Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream and Wendal August, a metal forging and gift shop,”the parnetrs explain.
And speaking of the Exton, Pennsylvania project, it just happens to be the company’s extraordinary assignment. “Our prize project to date would have to be Main Street at Exton in Exton, Pennsylvania. Not only because it is our first lifestyle center, but because in developing the project, we tackled the environmental challenges presented by a 150-acre industrial ‘brownfield’ and a trout-filled tributary, as well as the historic preservation challenges associated with the adaptive reuse of several historic buildings on the site, including one that is nearly 300 years old,” they explain. “It gave us the opportunity to apply our expertise on many levels. We worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Land Recycling program on the site cleanup, with Trout Unlimited on the stream relocation, with the Township on road widening, and with thelocal historical commission on preservation issues. And the result is a beautiful shopping destination that successfully combines big box superstores with unique specialty retailers.”
In addition, in the second phase of the Exton project, the company is currently working on incorporating the remaining structures into the residential aspect of the project. Overall, this will allow Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc. to give some sense of history to the project.
Focusing on upcoming projects that will be opening in the next few years, Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc. is looking towards New Jersey and Pennsylvania. “We currently have approximately nine projects in the pre-development stage right now. Of these, seven are in Pennsylvania, and two are in New Jersey. Most of them are traditional shopping centers, though in each state we are developing a major lifestyle center,” Wolfson and Verrichia say.
The future projects consist of Main Street at Granite Run in Granite Run, Pennsylvania, and the dual Main Street at Woolwich and Woolwich Commons power center in Woolwich, New Jersey. Main Street at Granite Run will be an 800,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center featuring fine retail stores and restaurants in an upscale village setting. Main Street at Woolwich, an 868,940 sq. ft. site, will also be a destination village with traditional brick architecture, while the adjacent Woolwich Commons, standing at 740,589 sq. ft., will offer the convenience of superstore shopping. Woolwich will also include Class A office space, new residences, a health club, a recreation center, a movie theater, a hotel and a conference center. It is Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc.’s largest undertaking to date, and the company expects it to be a highly desirable location.
So, in the future, does Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc. focus on lifestyle projects, or is the company also pursuing traditional, necessity based retail projects? “We have a nice mix of traditional retail centers and lifestyle centers in various stages of pre-development and development. Different communities have different needs,” Wolfson and Verrichia answer. “Our responsibility – to our retailers, and to the towns where we build – is to match the right kind of project to the community. We’re excited about the lifestyle centers like Main Street at Exton, Main Street at Woolwich, and Main Street at Granite Run, but we’re equally excited about a traditional center like Audubon, for example, where we have returned a site that was a retail destination for two generations of families back into a viable, convenient shopping center.”
When the act of acquiring redevelopment projects is taken into account, Verrichia Group, Inc. gets specific. “We have acquired a few existing projects for redevelopment in sites that our by Katerina Petinos research shows will provide opportunity markets for the national retailers. Whether we’re looking at an existing project or raw dirt, our acquisition criteria includes regional growth potential, zoning, demographic benchmarks, utilities, and roadway infrastructure. We’ve even successfully tackled ‘brownfield’ redevelopment projects. But any prospective site must meet our basic criteria before we’ll even consider development,” Wolfson and Verrichia explain.
With a team of only four leasing agents, it is amazing how Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc. has obtained a considerable amount of retail space. “We presently have about four million sq.ft. in pre-development in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which includes some very exciting mixed-use lifestyle center projects,” Wolfson and Verrichia say. “Of course, we are always in the process of reviewing sites for potential acquisition. Our experience in the commercial retail industry has helped us to build excellent relationships with national chain stores and franchisors, so when a retailer tells us that they would like to be in a particular area, we do our best to identify a destination that meets their needs, as well as our development criteria.”
To get right down to the basics of Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc.’s specialties, the company makes use of what they have to offer and what can help them. The company manages all of its own projects, while at the same time not providing third-party management. “It is very important to utilize the brokerage community in today’s market conditions. Today, more than we have seen in the last ten years, retailers are utilizing the brokerage community as their in-house real estate department to manage their portfolio of stores. In essence, the brokerage community has more flexibility than an in-house real estate epresentative in order to meet the demands when a retailer needs to expand or pull out of a market,” the partners explain.
For more information, contact Steven B. Wolfson and Thomas F. Verrichia, Wolfson Verrichia Group, Inc., 1250 Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-2444; 610-277-8899. |