Former Retail Location in Lodi Creates Over 100 New Jobs and Value-Oriented Shopping for the Public
Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) today announced that AAA Wholesale Group has leased 130,000 square feet in a building at the intersection of Route 17 and Essex Street in Lodi, New Jersey. This lease represents a successful transformation of a former retail site into a warehouse and distribution facility.
The building will serve as a wholesale membership club supplying smaller grocery stores, delis, and convenience stores with grocery products, deli supplies, beverages, cleaning supplies and other household items. In addition, approximately 20,000 square feet of the space will be allocated to consumers wishing to shop in store.
AAA has successful locations in the Bronx and Brooklyn, and this location will be its first in New Jersey. The new location is expected to provide more than 100 new jobs to the area.
“Lodi is an ideal location for our buyers with excellent commercial access and easy loading. We are excited to open our first New Jersey location,” said Alex Almontaser, Founder and CEO of AAA Wholesale Group. “We have a partner in Urban Edge Properties that is vested in our success, reconfiguring the property to meet our needs and make it possible for us to service the surrounding community through direct to consumer wholesale merchandise.”
Urban Edge is making improvements to the existing building to allow conversion of the first story to a 103,000 square foot high-bay warehouse featuring 26-foot ceiling clearance, 7 new loading docks, LED lighting with motion detection, and a new roof and parking lot.
“With the recent market challenges resulting from COVID-19, we are pleased to have identified this use and secured a terrific lease and partnership with AAA Wholesale Group,” said Chris Weilminster, EVP and COO of Urban Edge Properties. “The market remains active, especially in premier locations, and we look forward to continuing to execute on Urban Edge’s strategy of maximizing well-located, infill, transit-oriented assets that serve their surrounding community.”
ABOUT URBAN EDGE PROPERTIES
Urban Edge Properties is a NYSE listed real estate investment trust focused on managing, acquiring, developing, and redeveloping retail real estate in urban communities, primarily in the New York metropolitan region. Urban Edge owns 78 properties totaling 15.1 million square feet of gross leasable area.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200910005644/en/
For additional information:
Andi Simpson, VP Marketing
asimpson@uedge.com
(617) 990-7075