Developers sell ground lease for Walmart-occupied property in Linden, SRS says – Real Estate NJ

1050 West Edgar Road in Linden — Courtesy: SRS Real Estate Partners

By Joshua Burd

A joint venture has sold a ground lease for the site of a four-year-old Walmart in Linden, in a newly announced deal by SRS Real Estate Partners.

Located at 1050 West Edgar Road, the 185,682-square-foot store anchors the 47-acre retail property known as Legacy Square. It also has a corporate-guaranteed lease in place with 17 years remaining, brokers said, serving a trade area with more than 460,000 residents and 160,000 employees within a five-mile radius.

SRS managing principals Matthew Mousavi and Patrick Luther, Managing Director Britt Raymond and Senior Vice President Kyle Fant represented the sellers, Dallas-based developer Cypress Equities and San Francisco-based investment firm Stockbridge Capital Group. David Chasin of Pegasus Investments Real Estate Advisory represented the buyer, a partnership of several individuals in a large 1031 exchange.

“The Walmart sale is part of a larger break-up strategy for eight parcels of Legacy Square, which when completed will be valued in excess of $86.5 million,” Mousavi said. “Within the past few months we executed the sale of the Taco Bell outparcel as well as the Chick-fil-A, to separate buyers. Additionally, the Panera, Starbucks, AFC Urgent Care/Aspen Dental properties are under contract, and we are also marketing the Wawa and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, the remaining two available outparcels within Legacy Square.

“The investor demand for these types of assets remains strong, as evidenced by these transactions, with the buyers being sourced from across the country.”

Built in 2019, the Walmart store occupies 14.02 acres within a site that once house a General Motors plant. The retail giant relocated to the development from Aviation Plaza across the street.

Tenants at Legacy Square also include LA Fitness and other merchants whose ground leases are being offered for sale.

“Break-up strategies for larger retail centers is a strategic way for sellers to add more value to their exit strategy,” Fant said. “By selling off the assets one by one, the buyer pool is expanded and the pricing is typically more than if one buyer acquired the entire center. This strategy creates a winning situation for the seller as well as the buyers, who can have ownership in a portion of a large, institutional-quality shopping center that they otherwise could not afford or have access to.”