HOME NEWS TRIBUNE
September 7, 2004
By Ken Tarbous
EAST BRUNSWICK: A Lowe's home-improvement store is coming to town, more proof that the Route 18 retail corridor is one of the most sought-after locations in the state, real-estate experts say.
"It's the law of supply and demand," said Adrian Kroll, president of Kroll Commercial Realty. "There are little sites on 18 that are going for twice what they did four or five years ago."
The limited amount of available rental retail space and land for sale contributed to the rise, Kroll said, and spots on Route 18 are very desirable.
"People from Marlboro, Manalapan, Old Bridge, and even Colts Neck take 18 to get to the Turnpike in the morning." Kroll represents the owners of the old Quality Auto store property. A 5,000-square-foot center is planned there, and two of the three stores have been leased, he said Wednesday.
"We're getting very high rents here, higher than I had anticipated." The names of those two tenants were not available.
Arte Kitchens, a high-end store, also has signed a lease for an 8,000-square-foot space at 280 Route 18, near Gabowitz TV & Appliance Co., Kroll said.
Kroll, whose East Brunswick firm brokers commercial sales and leases, helped bring to town a new 100-room Holiday Inn Express on Naricon Place behind the Brunswick Hilton at Tower Center and a 66-room Comfort Suites on Old Bridge Turnpike, both expected to open in the fall.
Business is indeed booming along the five-mile stretch of highway in the township, Mayor William Neary said.
"Right now our biggest problem in East Brunswick is trying to find enough places to accommodate the businesses that want to move in," the mayor said Thursday.
As evidence of the thriving business environment, Neary pointed to successes such as the renovations at the Mid State Mall, the $15 million makeover at Brunswick Square Mall, and the arrival in town of Kohl's and Best Buy since he's taken office.
More recently, Lowe's has received Planning Board approval for a store at East Brunswick Plaza, near Kohl's and Circuit City.
The township is about to begin modifications to improve traffic flow at the intersection of Route 18 and Tices Lane that will help local businesses, Neary said.
Patrick Delaney is a real-estate veteran with Jeffery Realty, a firm representing Mid State Mall and Village Green East on Route 18.
"Route 18 is a good regional market," Delaney said. "It has good, strong demographics, and also it's a heavy commuter road."
Delaney, whose company specializes in leasing, sales and development of retail property, also said available space is limited on the Route 18 corridor.
The 377,211-square-foot Mid State Mall, where Best Buy, ShopRite and Borders are located, is 100 percent occupied, Delaney said Thursday.
"Probably for the first time in 15 years," he added. "The owner there did a phenomenal job, renovated it, made it attractive, made deals with national tenants." Village Green East, home to Vitamin Shoppe, also is 100 percent occupied, he said.
Jeffery Realty, based in North Plainfield, also represents the 18 Central Shopping Center on Route 18, where the Gap is located.
Office Depot is doing construction on the old Kids R Us space and plans to open in October, Delaney said. A gourmet grocer has signed a lease for The Wiz space and a dessert shop has taken the space formerly occupied by Wells Fargo Financial, next to the Gap.
The former storefront of Party City, 12,800 square feet, and the Office Max space, 33,000 square feet, are still vacant, he said, and talks are proceeding with potential tenants, including a seafood restaurant.
A proposed $30 million redevelopment of the Golden Triangle -- a 31-acre parcel that includes Sam's Club, the Transportation and Commerce Center and the Route 18 Market -- is in the works.
