Bergman’s $16M Cherry Hill acquisition marks 1st in retail sector

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Bergman Real Estate Group and Capstone Realty Group USA have purchased a retail complex in Cherry Hill.

On Sept. 12, the joint venture announced its $16.1 million purchase of Barclay Farms Shopping Center located at 1401 Marlton Pike, an 87,750-square-foot, multitenant neighborhood strip situated on 13 acres. The site also includes a 45,000-square-foot parcel ready for development.

The property is currently 96% occupied, according to the JV. Tenants include Planet Fitness and Dollar Tree, along with several restaurants and other retailers.

Steven Fleissig of Greenberg Traurig LLP represented Bergman and Capstone in the transaction. CBRE Senior Vice President Jerome Kranzel from the Philadelphia Capital Markets team served as sales agent representing the seller, Philadelphia-based Kaiserman Co. Inc., which owned the property for over 20 years.

New ownership outlined plans to add value at the site with capital improvements, including upgrading facades, adding new monument signage, lighting modifications, updated landscaping, and work to parking lots and sidewalks.

For Bergman, the deal marks the first retail property acquisition in the Woodbridge-based company’s more than 30-year history. According to the firm, Barclay Farms stood out due to its high occupancy, and room to grow.

“What initially attracted us to the site was its undeniable old-world charm, evoking nostalgic memories of your neighborhood shopping center that has that special character we all love,” said Michael Bergman, president and CEO of Bergman Real Estate Group. “But, looking deeper, its vast expansion potential is what truly stood out — paving the way for diverse retail uses and even medical offices that we feel will create tremendous upside value.”

Bergman and Capstone said they have plans to either lease up the remaining space at the property or develop medical office space.

“We have a lot of flexibility to expand the center and accommodate additional retail and high-end medical office requirements,” Capstone Managing Partner Brad Gillman said in a statement. “The development could accommodate a boutique supermarket or grocer, a discount wine or liquor center, and multiple freestanding pad sites.”

Bergman Director of Acquisitions Brian Rand added that the highly accessible location on Route 70 East, just off the Interstate 295 interchange in a dense in-fill area with favorable demographics, added to the appeal.

According to Placer.ai data, foot traffic to retail chains in Camden County, where Cherry Hill is located, is better than before COVID-19, posting 103% recovery in August 2023 versus August 2019. Within that area, fitness chains – like Planet Fitness – were identified as the category with the highest recovery foot traffic, at 158%.

Factors like those, coupled with the increasing consumer demand for service-oriented retail experiences, made Barclay Farms an intriguing investment opportunity for the two companies.

“This deal continues the trend of strong demand for experiential and service-based retail that was boosted by the pandemic,” commented Rand. “Consumers realized, once their ability to enter public places was taken away, how much these experiences meant to their overall mental and physical health. Humans are social beings, and being able to go out and enter establishments, whether to eat, get a haircut, or any other experience, plays a significant role in our overall happiness.”