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The long-term potential of the retail-to-industrial conversion trend may be debated, but it retains its attraction to mall landlords with massive vacancies to fill.
PREIT has reached an agreement to convert the 80K SF former Burlington box at Cumberland Mall in Vineland, New Jersey, to a distribution center, the retail REIT announced on Thursday. The tenant will be Power Warehouse, an online merchant of batteries and power supplies, a PREIT representative told Bisnow.
The 951K SF Cumberland Mall sits just off State Route 55 in New Jersey, 25 miles south of Philadelphia and nestled among South Jersey's network of wildlife preserves and parks. Its occupancy sat at 79% at the end of the first quarter, 8.4% less than a year ago, according to PREIT's quarterly disclosure. A HomeGoods will boost that number when it opens in the former Bed Bath & Beyond location in the mall.
Cumberland Mall's value minus depreciation stood at a hair over $49M at the end of the quarter, second-to-smallest of the 16 malls PREIT considers core properties (which excludes Fashion District Philadelphia due to the REIT having ceded majority ownership to Macerich late last year). The value does not include the 155K SF Boscov's department store and the 118K SF BJ's Wholesale Club, both of which are owner-occupied. The mall carries $40.4M of debt that matures in August 2022 with no extensions.
"This latest addition furthers PREIT's strategic efforts to redefine its distinctive real estate portfolio through the integration of non-retail uses alongside our high-quality tenant mix across its portfolio," PREIT CEO Joe Coradino said in a statement released with the lease announcement. "This addition joins a diverse set of recently executed uses across our portfolio including self-storage, grocery and healthcare that will bolster our offerings and expand our customer base."
PREIT filed for bankruptcy in November as part of a pre-arranged deal that saw it emerge almost instantaneously with new debt agreements.
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