Levin Leases Retail Building in Clifton, N.J. to Dollar General

By admin • December 7, 2009

Discount Retailer will Offer Expanded Grocery Component in Free-Standing Store

CLIFTON, N.J., Sept. 2, 2009 – Dollar General Corporation, the nation’s largest small-box discount retailer, has leased an 11,556-square-foot, free-standing building at 449 Lakeview Ave. in Clifton, announced Levin Management Corporation, leasing and managing agent for the property. Dollar General has already opened their new store in the former Drug Fair store, offering merchandise for every day needs as well as an expanded grocery component.

“This building sits in the heart of a residential neighborhood – with little to no retail within a mile or more of the property,” noted Levin’s Barry Greenberg, who brokered the lease on behalf of the landlord, a privately held, third-generation family owner. “For many years, Drug Fair provided not only a traditional pharmacy and health and beauty products, but also a fairly robust convenience store operation. Its bankruptcy and subsequent departure left a void that a dollar store or small grocery operation could step right into and thrive.”

Unlike many shopping center locations in which dollar stores are restricted in the amount of food they sell, Dollar General will not have to deal with that type of lease clause since they are leasing the entire property.

In fact the lease itself came together with record speed. Within 24 hours of Levin’s initial outreach to the Goodlettsville, Tenn.,-based Dollar General, the company’s broker, Tim Keeley of Julius Feinblum Realty, expressed interest in seeing the property. Less than 48 hours after visiting the property, Dollar General made an offer. One week later, the lease was drawn. It closed in less than one month.

“They wanted it that much,” Greenberg said, “and we wanted them. It really is a perfect fit. The building offers a terrific location for this type of use. And the surrounding community gains a retailer that offers both corporate strength as well as a concept that well serves residents’ needs.”

Built in 1947, 449 Lakeview Ave. originally housed an IGA supermarket and also operated as a Food Town before Drug Fair took over. “This building is a terrific example of a ‘first growth’ property, which was built in an up-and-coming area that since has achieved a dense, stable population,” noted Matthew K. Harding, Levin’s president and chief operating officer. “Thanks to the foresight of its developer, it always will offer appeal for the right type of operator.”

Dollar General has 8,400-plus stores in 35 states. The Clifton store will be the second Dollar General in northern New Jersey; the company maintains 20 additional stores further south in the state. “We expect to see more of this aggressively expanding retailer in the Garden State,” Harding commented. “With market conditions being what they are today, there are big opportunities for growth here, especially in the discount sector.”