Former Pathmark shopping center in South Jersey will be auctioned off

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A property formerly occupied by a Pathmark grocery store is going up for auction July 20, continuing the restructuring of A&P‘s imprint on New Jersey.

A property formerly occupied by a Pathmark grocery store is going up for auction July 20, continuing the restructuring of A&P‘s imprint on New Jersey.

The 54,000-square-foot property, on the corner of Route 70 and Route 154 in Cherry Hill, is being auctioned by Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., in Annandale.

Bob Dann, executive vice president of operations for Max Spann and manager of the Cherry Hill property’s account, said the firm did a survey of the property and researched its environmental history.

“It could be retail space, office space. It is a high-profile, high-visibility location, and that’s why the site is so interesting to so many different buyers,” Dann said, adding that buyers would likely have the funds to invest in upgrading the property.

Within the last year, a Korean grocery store chain, Han Nam Chain, has occupied a former Pathmark in Fort Lee. Max Spann Jr., president and CEO of the auction group, said the company has received calls from interested parties from around the nation leading up to the auction.

Spann said while it is difficult to give concrete trends in retail property auctions, because of multiple variables, “within investment-grade real estate — something you’d be putting a national type of tenant in — they are still trading at very good numbers, even in this real estate environment.”

“What is interesting to see with this (property) is if there are a bunch of developers or nationals that want to be at that location, but there’s a lot of work that has to be done on the property,” Spann said. “This is a real hard one to predict, pricewise.”

A preview of the property will be hosted Thursday afternoon, and again July 13.

In June, A&P received $6.7 million from the state a Business Retention and Relocation Assistance Grant and sales and use tax exemption funds, in a bid to keep the Mahwah-based company’s headquarters in New Jersey.

The company announced in September that it was closing 25 Pathmark locations, including 12 in state, and laying off 1,000 employees.