Larken buys Pennsylvania Center; expands retail holdings

Larken Associates has expanded its million-sq.-ft. plus retail portfolio with the acquisition of

“It was already being repositioned; we picked it up to finish that process,” said David Iacobucci, chief investment officer of the 57-year-old commercial real estate developer and operator based in Branchburg, N.J. “Go there on any day the week and it is busy. It’s got a lot of overflow parking, has access to I-84, and is shadow-anchored by Lowe’s.”

Anchors at Westfall, which lies about halfway between Scranton, Pa., and Newburgh, N.Y. on the Interstate, are a 73,000-sq.-ft. Shop Rite and a 25,000-sq.-ft. TJ Maxx.  Other tenants include Planet Fitness, Dollar Tree and a Flagship Cinema. Wendy’s and Perkins Restaurant occupy two outparcels at the center.

Larken is focusing the expansion of its retail sector on grocery-anchored centers surrounded by residential development.

“We are very excited about this off-market purchase in Pike County as it fits perfectly within our strategy to acquire well-located retail centers with value-add potential,” said Victor Kelly, executive VP of Raider Realty, Larken’s in-house brokerage. “We spend a lot of time analyzing tenant mix and we’ve found that, today, people want to go to centers with multiple uses. They stay there longer.”

Larken assesses the center’s market area as containing more than 100,000 people posting average household incomes of $95,000.

“Having been in this business for 50 years, we take pride in our ability to identify and acquire retail properties that possess both strong in-place tenancy and long-term value creation opportunities,” Iacobucci said.