R.J. Brunelli & Co. Announces Series of Leases and Land Sales for ‘Big Box’ Stores and Other Notable Tenants at N.J. Sites

Transactions include deals for A&P, Aldi, Tuesday Morning, Chase Bank, Harbor Freight Tools, plus regional retailers Avalon Carpet, Jason’s Furniture, Stew Leonard’s Wines

OLD BRIDGE, N.J., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ — R.J. Brunelli & Co., Inc. today announced the recent completion of a series of leases and land sales that will bring ‘big-box’ retail, financial services and personal services tenants to sites throughout New Jersey.

In the largest of the deals, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. signed a 20-year lease for a new 42,552-square-foot store at the Village Center on South Street and Springfield Avenue in New Providence. The chain expects to open its Fresh Market store in spring 2009, joining such prominent tenants as CVS and Blockbuster. A 22,000-square-foot building that previously housed the center’s Acme supermarket will be demolished to make way for A&P. The transaction was brokered by R.J. Brunelli executive vice president Nick Romagnoli.

On Highway 35 in Eatontown, the firm signed Avalon Carpet and Tile to a five-year lease for a 26,000-square-foot freestanding space previously occupied by Squan Furniture. Scheduled to open November 14, the store will be the first location in Monmouth County for Avalon, which currently operates 12 other stores in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. R.J. Brunelli was exclusive broker for the site, with sales associate Marty Yaged handling the transaction.

Also on Highway 35, the firm brokered a 10-year lease that will bring international limited assortment grocer Aldi to a 20,000-square-foot space at Hazlet Plaza that was previously occupied by 99-Cent Dreams. Expected to open in March 2008, the location will be the fourth in Monmouth County for the chain, which currently operates over 850 stores in the United States. Situated on Highway 35 and Poole Avenue, Hazlet Plaza also features Toys ‘R’ Us, Drug Fair and Mandee Shops. R.J. Brunelli is exclusive leasing agent for the center, with sales associate John Lenaz brokering the Aldi deal.

Further south on Highway 35, Lenaz brokered the sale of an undeveloped 2-1/2-acre parcel at Seaview Square in Ocean Township to Jason’s Furniture. The New Jersey retailer will use the site to expand the parking area for its existing location on the center’s periphery. R.J. Brunelli is exclusive leasing agent for Seaview Square, a 1.0 million-square-foot power center at the junction of Highways 35 and 66 whose anchors include Costco, Sears, Target, Value City and a recently opened PetSmart.

In another Highway 35 transaction, the firm brokered a 20-year ground lease with Chase Bank for a 3/4-acre site at the intersection of Chapel Hill Road. Chase expects to open the 3,200-square-foot branch in fall 2008 on the parcel, which previously housed a Shell service station. The site is located across from a Whole Foods store. R.J. Brunelli senior vice president Bill Lenaz brokered the deal on behalf of Chase.

Elsewhere on Highway 35, working on behalf of Work Out World (WOW), the firm sub-leased a 10,000-square-foot space occupied by WOW at Tinton Falls Plaza to Maureen Tiere Sports Training. The new facility is expected to open at the site in January 2008. R.J. Brunelli serves as exclusive tenant representative for Work Out World in New Jersey, with sales associate Carl Minue handling this transaction.

At Route 1’s Woodbridge Plaza, the firm brokered a 10-year lease with Harbor Freight Tools for a 16,000-square-foot space that was previously occupied by Drug Fair. The chain expects to open at the center this December, joining a lineup that includes Best Buy, Office Depot, Raymour & Flanagan, and Toys ‘R’ Us. The location will be the first in Middlesex County and fourth in New Jersey for Harbor Freight, a leading catalog and internet dealer of professional tools and equipment, and operator of more than 280 stores throughout the U.S. R.J. Brunelli represented the tenant on the lease, with Minue handling the transaction.

In its capacity as exclusive broker for Tuesday Morning in New Jersey, the firm completed a pair of five-year leases for the chain in the northern and southern parts of the state. The retailer signed for a 12,041-square-foot space at 777 Route 17 in Paramus that previously housed a golf shop. On Route 38 in Mount Laurel, Tuesday Morning signed for 6,860 square feet at Larchmont Commons. Both stores are expected to open this fall. Danielle Brunelli-Albrecht, vice president-lifestyle leasing, brokered both leases for the firm.

Elsewhere in northern New Jersey, the firm brokered a 10-year lease that will bring Stew Leonard’s Wines to a 10,500-square-foot space at The Promenade Shops on Route 3 in Clifton. Expected to open in spring 2008, the location will be the first in New Jersey for the chain of independently owned shops, which currently includes locations adjoining Stew Leonard’s Dairy superstores in Norwalk and Danbury, Conn., and Yonkers, N.Y., as well as a freestanding unit in Farmingdale, N.Y. In Clifton, the store will join TGI Friday’s on the site. R.J. Brunelli represented the landlord on the deal, with Ms. Brunelli-Albrecht handling the transaction.

R.J. Brunelli & Co. serves as exclusive real estate representative in various New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania counties for more than 20 other retail, restaurant and service chains, including such major companies as L.L. Bean Outlet, Houlihan’s, Trader Joe’s, Tuesday Morning, Ulta and Workout World. The firm also serves as exclusive leasing representative for 29 existing retail properties and four centers under construction with a combined gross leasable area (GLA) of approximately 3.0 million square feet, along with 11 projects in the approvals stage with more than 1.08 million square feet of GLA. The properties are located throughout northern, central and southern New Jersey.

SOURCE R.J. Brunelli & Co., Inc.

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