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Two years after Red Bank-based First National Realty Partners acquired Eagle Plaza in Voorhees Township, KPR Centers has acquired the Philadelphia-area retail center for $41.7 million.

The New York-based real estate development and investment group announced its purchase of the 230,000-square-foot grocery-anchored, neighborhood shopping center Dec. 13.

Located at 700 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, the complex is home to nearly 40 retailers and restaurants. Tenants include Ross Dress for Less, Five Below, Chipotle and Ace Pickleball Club. A 66,465-square-feet Alberstons’ subsidiary Acme Markets has anchored the site for more than four decades.

According to Institutional Property Advisors, which arranged the transaction, Acme upgraded its store with $700,000 in renovations last year.

IPA Executive Director Brad Nathanson and Senior Director JP Colussi represented both buyer and seller in the transaction.

“We’re pleased to complete the sale of Eagle Plaza. This sale is the culmination of our business plan, increasing occupancy from 65% when we purchased it in 2022 to just over 97% today,” FNRP Chief Investment Officer Michael Hazinski told NJBIZ. “Eagle Plaza is a market-dominant asset and we know it’s in great hands with the KPR Team.”

Located at the signalized intersection of Haddonfield-Berlin Road (Route 561) and White Horse Road (Route 673), Eagle Plaza offers five separate access points. According to KPR, the site records combined traffic counts of more than 45,000 vehicles from its crossroads.

According to Placer.ai data, the property had more than 219,000 visits in November. The location intelligence and foot traffic data company places the neighborhood center in a high trade area.

According to KPR nearly 240,000 people reside within a 5-mile radius of the property. Additionally, nearly 95,000 of those household have an average household income approaching $145,000, the company said.

Long-term plans

KPR owns and self-manages approximately 10 million square feet of retail space across 18 states, according to the company. Its other New Jersey properties include Concordia Shopping Center in Monroe Township and The Shops At Bloomfield Station in Bloomfield.

According to the company, it was attracted to Eagle Plaza by the multiple opportunities to increase asset value. KPR cited the potential development of an outparcel at the site, hitting full occupancy as well as some re-tenanting.

At the time of purchase, the occupancy rate for Eagle Plaza was in the high 90s, a company spokesperson told NJBIZ.

“We are exploring all avenues in this regard, but we were initially attracted to Eagle Plaza based on the strong and diverse tenant mix, significant weighted average lease term, and the presence of a high-performing grocery store anchor,” commented KPR Centers COO Andrew Frank. “The property sits in the heart of the retail node in Voorhees Township, an area which has experienced tremendous population and income growth over the past several years.”

Earlier in the fall, KPR entered the Colorado market with a $56.5 million acquisition.

“With a cumulative vacancy rate of less than 5% nationally in the retail sector, few new shopping centers coming out of the ground, and economic sentiment on the upswing nationally, we believe that fundamentals are ideal to acquire well-leased and strategically-positioned retail assets,” said Eric Wolf, managing director of KPR Centers. “We’ve been owners in the Philadelphia submarket for many years and recognize the area as among the highest performing sections of the country, given the sustained population and income growth that continue to occur.

“Eagle Plaza is an institutional-quality asset that provides several opportunities to create substantial value and, given the presence of several additional assets nearby, enables us to further scale operations and improve overall efficiencies,” Wolf said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11:14 a.m. EST to include comments from the seller.