Sale of Bridgewater Commons mall clears another hurdle
BRIDGEWATER – Seven months after the transaction was announced, the closing of the sale of the Bridgewater Commons moved a step closer on Thursday when the Township Council passed a resolution consenting to the ownership change.
Under the state's Redevelopment Law, a municipality has to approve the sale of a property which is the object of a redevelopment agreement. The mall was the subject of a redevelopment agreement when it was built in the 1980s.
In its resolution, the township emphasized that the redevelopment agreement which will be transferred from Bridgewater Commons Mall LLC to Bridgewater Pacific LLC, the new owner, does not include any residential housing as a permitted use.
If Bridgewater Pacific wants to redevelop the 35-year-old mall, it will have to negotiate a new agreement with the township which has expressed opposition to any housing on the property which is one of the hottest pieces of real estate in New Jersey bordered by Interstate 287 and routes, 22 and 202-206, an area once known as the "Golden Triangle."
Pacific Retail Capital Partners, based in Los Angeles, announced in May the acquisition of the 1.2 million-square-foot mall and the adjacent 94,000-square-foot Village at Bridgewater Commons.
In a press release, Pacific Retail Capital Partners said it wants to "transform the mall into a vibrant mixed-use destination."
The developer "is committed to working closely with local officials and community members in order to help revitalize Bridgewater Commons and create a destination that will continue to be an anchor for the market for years to come," according to the release.
“The acquisition of Bridgewater Commons represents another important step in our ongoing efforts to acquire well located, quality retail centers in fundamentally strong markets that will enable us to thoughtfully evolve them into market-leading mixed-use assets,” said Steve Plenge, CEO of Pacific Retail Capital Partners, in the release. “While we will continue to pursue strategic joint ventures and other partnership structures to execute our long-term strategy, we will also seek to own more properties outright, such as Bridgewater Commons, providing us with even greater optionality when it comes to repositioning and monetizing assets.”
No purchase price has been announced.
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Pacific Retail Capital Partners assumed Bridgewater Commons’ existing loan and secured an extension that will provide the company with sufficient time to execute its plan to revitalize the mall, the release said.
The Los Angeles firm has more than $3 billion in assets under management across the U.S. and its portfolio totals 24 properties with more than 20 million square feet.
The company, which focuses on revitalizing large retail properties, is redeveloping The Galleria at White Plains in Westchester County, New York in partnership with Cappelli Organization.
As an example of its other revitalization efforts, Pacific Retail Capital Partners acquired an anchor store at a suburban Chicago mall and is transforming it into an exciting mixed-use destination by adding more than 600 multifamily units and a park, according to the release.
In addition, the company is revitalizing a shopping center in a Salt Lake City suburb into a live, work and play environment by building more than 1,000 multifamily units and adding an office and hotel component with unique restaurant and retail concepts.
In the wake of the pandemic, the Bridgewater Commons, like other malls through the U.S., began to suffer as more and more stores began to close as shoppers went online to make their purchases.
In December 2022, the Bridgewater Township Council adopted a zoning ordinance to allow establishments for games, entertainment and amusements in the mall. That would allow popular venues such as Topgolf or Dave & Busters to locate there. The ordinance says that any future establishments should not be bigger than 90,000 square feet.
The Planning Board has approved plans for Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse to open at the mall, and the former Crate & Barrel in the Village at the Commons is being transformed into medical offices.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater Commons mall sale to new owners clears another hurdle
