One of South Philadelphia’s hottest shopping destinations is on the market amid elevated interest in retail strip centers across the country.
The fully occupied Columbus Commons at 2106 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd. has been listed by its current owner, the Goldenberg Group. CBRE has the listing for the property.
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The shopping center could sell for around $40M, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
“I do think it’s a quality shopping center,” Institutional Property Advisors Senior Director J.P. Colussi told Bisnow. “There has been a lot of really good activity over the last couple of years along that section of Columbus Boulevard.”
The nearly 125K SF shopping center is anchored by Best Buy, Raymour & Flanigan and Dollar Tree, and it is adjacent to Lowe’s and Ikea, which own their sites. Goldenberg secured a $25M loan to begin developing Columbus Crossing in 2005, the PBJ reported. The average operating tenure there is more than 17 years.
Colussi recalled traveling to shop at Columbus Commons while living in Old City. The executive, who is focused on retail in greater Philadelphia, said there aren’t a lot of options for big-box retail in Center City or other parts of South Philly.
“There will be a lot of interest in it,” Colussi said. “I think a new owner is going to continue to recognize rental growth in this part of Philadelphia. … There isn’t a ton of space available, and there are lots and lots of people.”
Columbus Crossing also includes three pad sites, with tenants like Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s and Longhorn Steakhouse. Colussi said a buyer might choose to sell off these pad sites at a lower cap rate than what the property is now selling for.
Further details about the property are behind a confidentiality agreement on CBRE’s website, which Colussi said is a common practice for these types of listings. When IPA published a listing for Hamilton Marketplace in Mercer County with a similar nondisclosure agreement, nearly 100 people signed to get more information about the property, he said.
Shopping centers like this have experienced a major resurgence in recent years. Foot traffic at strip centers in 2023 was up 18% from prepandemic levels, RetailStat reported. The retail type now outpaces traditional indoor malls on that front.
Strip centers are also seeing an unprecedentedly hot leasing market, which led to a 3% year-over-year increase in asking rent in the third quarter of 2024, according to a JLL report.
KPR Centers announced in December that it acquired the 230K SF Eagle Plaza in Voorhees, New Jersey, for $41.7M, $12M more than the center sold for just two years ago.
TownCentre Capital Founder Don Tepman, who goes by the moniker StripMallGuy on social media, said this is the hottest market he has seen for the properties.
“Everywhere, middle of nowhere, doesn't matter where it is,” Tepman said last month.
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