Goldenberg Group Lists Columbus Commons

A fully occupied shopping center in South Philadelphia may soon have a new owner.

The Blue Bell-based Goldenberg Group listed Columbus Commons at 2106 South Christopher Columbus Boulevard, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. Goldenberg was the developer of the two-decade-old asset.

The shopping center totals 644,000 square feet, though only a small portion of that is actually being marketed, as Ikea and Lowe’s own their real estate at the address. Only a 125,000-square-foot section is up for grabs.

What the shopping center may lack in comparative size, it appears to make up for with performance. The asset is fully occupied, featuring a tenant roster that includes restaurants Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, Longhorn Steakhouse and Miller’s Ale House; those tenants drive 24 percent of the shopping center’s net operating income.

Anchor tenants include Best Buy, Raymour & Flanigan and Dollar Tree. The weighted average lease is 4.2 years, while the average operating tenure is 17.6 years.

A CBRE team including Chris Munley and Colin Behr are marketing the shopping center, which CBRE estimates could sell for roughly $40 million.

Goldenberg is the original operator of the 44-acre property. The developer received a $25 million loan to facilitate the first phase of the shopping center’s development back in 2005.

Demand outpaced supply in Philadelphia’s retail market last year, according to the most recent report from CBRE. Net occupancy increased by 600,000 square feet over the course of the year, while 480,000 square feet were added to the market via construction. There’s another 202,000 square feet in the pipeline.

Ken Goldenberg started his eponymous firm in 1987, specializing in open-air shopping centers. The business has since expanded to luxury condominiums, custom houses and student housing.

Over the summer, Goldenberg refinanced two student housing properties near Temple University for a combined $285.5 million, landing financing from Walker & Dunlop, according to the Commercial Observer.

— Holden Walter-Warner