DLC signs Lidl to anchor refurbished Maryland center

Last year, DLC Management Corp. and the Acadia Strategic Opportunity Fund acquired an outdoor center in Frederick, Md., with a plan to enhance its tenant base and appeal to a wider and more affluent population in the area. This week, the partners announced the signing of an anchor they feel is in line with that goal.

Lidl has signed a lease for a 27,800-sq.-ft. space once occupied by a Big Kmart at Frederick County Square, west of Rte. 15 and W. Patrick Street, a major interchange in the area that is known as The Golden Mile. More than 100,000 people with average household incomes of $103,000 live within a five-mile radius of the center.

“This is our eighth re-development of a center including a defunct Kmart and our second new lease with Lidl in 2020,” said DLC CEO Adam Ifshin. “This dynamic grocery partner brings affordable and fresh food to markets that are frequently lacking in cost-effective fresh food options.”

Lidl plans to open its Frederick store in 2021. The rest of the vacated Kmart property has been leased by Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.

The German-based Lidl, ranked among the top five grocers by Food & Wine Magazine, established a United States headquarters in Arlington, Va., in June 2015 and now operates 100 stores in nine East Coast states. DLC intends to help it expand further.

“We continue to partner with Lidl to help them expand from New York to Atlanta in both our shopping center re-development and single-tenant, net-leased platforms,” Ifshin said.