Aspen News
November 2020
Aspen Real Estate Purchases Vineland, NJ Shopping Center
Aspen Real Estate has acquired the 138,445-square-foot, grocery-anchored Maintree Shopping Center in Vineland, NJ. Built in 1996, the shopping center is located at the intersection of heavily traveled South Main Road and East Chestnut Avenue.
Still open to limited partner investors, the property is the dominant shopping destination for the eastern section of Vineland with a strong mix of internet resistant tenants well suited to meet the daily shopping needs of the more affluent East Vineland community.
The center's is anchored by ACME Markets, the leading grocer servicing the southeast side of Vineland. Its health and beauty and fitness tenants include: Anytime Fitness; MedExpress; Quality Dental Care; Eye Deal Vision; GNC; Diamond Nails and Douglas Arthur Salon.
Additionally the center boasts five restaurant tenants including, Boston Market, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Sino Wok, and Primo Hoagies. These businesses generate a steady flow of customer traffic.
The four pad site tenants Boston Market, Burger King, Pizza Hut and MedExpress offer Aspen the opportunity to sell these assets individually at lower cap rates as single tenant net leased properties.
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The proximity of professional and medical offices, a hospital, and an adjacent office complex add significant day time population to the immediate trade area.
The property behind the shopping center is zoned R-3 Residential and was approved for the construction of 450 age-restricted residential units. The trade area has strong demographics with significant growth that is expected to continue as the region’s economy moves away from agriculture to a more diversified employment base with jobs being added in nearly every employment sector.
Maintree Shopping Center is located in an Urban Enterprise Zone which, in addition to employment benefits, provides a reduced 3.31% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide) to eligible merchants.
About Aspen Real Estate
Aspen Real Estate has been purchasing real estate with a "Value Add" upside for 9 years. Aspen recently created their first a Value Add Investment Fund to take advantage of the historic buying opportunity the COVID crisis will present. The Freehold Center is the first purchase of the Fund, which is still open to new investors.
July 2020
Aspen Real Estate and Devli Real Estate Purchase 220,000 SF Freehold, NJ Shopping Center
Aspen Real Estate and Devli Real Estate, in a joint venture, have acquired a 220,000 square foot shopping center in Freehold, NJ from the CMBS bond holder group that had foreclosed on the property approximately 1 year ago.
The joint Venture believes in the Monmouth County retail sub-market and plans to modernize the center which has been neglected for years by prior ownership. Aspen Principal, Phil Proetto, is very excited about the purchase and is moving forward to quickly to install a new facade on the Center, stating, " We are very excited to acquire such a well located shopping center at such a low price per sq. ft. We will have fantastic, immediate cash flow as well as the opportunity to add value through leasing of vacant space and renovation of the Center. We are already in late stage discussions with two national tenants to take additional space. We are planning a new façade that we believe will result in a fully leased shopping center."
Devli's Chief Operating Officer, Christopher Devli, noted that the acquisition was one of the more challenging ones due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The fact that we were able to make a deal and close on this acquisition in the middle of one of the worst pandemics we've seen is a
This is Aspen and Devli’s 3rd transaction together and the second foreclosure property the joint venture has purchased. Prior ro this the JV purchased two office complexes totaling over 300,000 square feet. The shopping center, located at 3651 Route 9 in freehold. NJ is comprised of 4 buildings and is situated on 25.58 acres of land. It is currently 71% leased and anchored by the Burlington Coat Facorty who recently extended their lease confirming the strength of the Center’s location.
testament to the amazing team we have. With debt markets virtually frozen, we were still able to secure attractive financing due to the relationships we've built and the strength of our balance sheet. We feel this shopping center has incredible upside and we're excited about bringing that to fruition. This will be a trophy asset once we make the necessary improvements and stabilize."
The Joint Venture is very pleased with the acquisition and is actively working on other investments to add to their portfolio. Kathleen Pless of Bogota Savings Bank financed the acquisition and Jackleen Chesler and Mathew Brown of Colliers International brokered the deal.
About Aspen Real Estate
Aspen Real Estate has been purchasing real estate with a "Value Add" upside for 9 years. Aspen recently created their first a Value Add Investment Fund to take advantage of the historic buying opportunity the COVID crisis will present. The Freehold Center is the first purchase of the Fund, which is still open to new investors.
About Devli Real Estate
Devli Real Estate is a real estate investment, development and management company with assets diversified in industrial, retail, multi-family, office, mixed-use properties and hotels.
November 2019
Aspen Closes on 186,000 sf
Trophy Office Building
Aspen Real Estate has closed on the purchase of 3600 Rt. 66, Neptune, NJ – a Class A 186,000 sf office building. Aspen purchased the property from Mack Cali, a NJ based REIT. This acquisition represents Aspen’s 7th transaction in Monmouth County. The office building is 100% leased by 4 strong companies. Some of the tenants have sublet their space, creating an opportunity to increase the building’s value in the future.
“We are very excited to acquire such an attractive trophy asset at a price that will generate a fantastic cash flow and provide the opportunity for additional Value Add profits,” stated Aspen principal, Philip Proetto. “The building is in great condition but we will be building an 8,000 sf modern Café, lounge and conference center. We will also construct an outdoor seating area.” Proetto went on to explain that today’s tenants require an environment where their employees can relax and enjoy their break time as well as have access to a modern conferencing center for large meetings/events.
Fantastic Returns for Limited Partners
At $26 million, this is Aspen’s largest acquisition and Aspen’s second large purchase in under 10 months. Last December Aspen acquired the 130,000 sf office/school property at 260/270 Industrial Way in Eatontown, NJ. The Eatontown property was acquired through the purchase of a mortgage note and subsequent foreclosure.
All Aspen’s Monmouth County investments have generated fantastic returns for Aspen’s limited partners. Philip Proetto says this is the result of his conservative underwriting combined with the Aspen team’s unique ability to see opportunities to increase future value. Both Proetto and his partner Alex Reizner have conservative backgrounds with Proetto starting as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand and Reizner, starting as private mortgage lender.
Aspen is looking to acquire $75 million in assets over the next 12 months through direct purchase and defaulted mortgage acquisitions. They focus on medical, office and mid-sized shopping centers from $10 to $50 million.
To learn more contact us.
Aspen eNews - December 2019
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National Financial News
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Commercial Real Estate News
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Completed Aspen Deals
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Aspen Investment Opportunities
December 2019
Grocery-Anchored Shopping Centers Remain the Safest Retail Bet
Grocery-anchored shopping centers remain a sweet spot for investors shopping for retail properties in an extremely volatile environment , and one in which overall retail transaction volume is down significantly. Investors prefer assets anchored by grocers because they see them as less vulnerable to competition from e-commerce and a big traffic driver that benefits other tenants in their centers.
October 2019
Aspen Real Estate recently announced its 3rd distribution to partners in its Industrial Way building in Eatontown, NJ. The distribution is equal to a 40% return on capital for investors in the 130,000 sf, 100% leased property that includes offices and a school.
To learn more contact us.
November 2018
100,000 sf & 29,000 sf - Mixed Use
Eatontown, NJ
Closed November 28, 2018
To learn more contact us.