News
HOW TO SELL IN SOUTH PHILLY
July 5, 2012
| Welcome back to the grindstone, Independence Day revelers. Inlast week's wrap-up of Bisnow's South Philly-focused event, we filled you in on the latest goings-on at the Navy Yard, where lately, both news and ground seem to be breaking at an almost unprecedented pace. |
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| Moderator Herman Fala (real estate co-chair of event sponsor Cozen O'Connor) asked for specifics about the event's other main topic:South Philly retail real estate. What type of retailer, Herman asked, is interested in that sort of market? And what's the demographic of the shopper you seek there? |
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| Cedar Realty Trust VP Nancy Mozzachio has answers. CRT owns four Columbus Avenue shopping centers—all in dense and diverse urban markets—that were purchased from developer Bart Blatstein. As Nancy explains, the success of an urban retailer lies largely in his ability to merchandise stores to capture its diverse customer base. (We'll add: take a chance, throw a magic shop in there, see how it goes.) "If you understand those markets," she says, "there are tremendous sales to be had." |
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| The Goldenberg Group SVP Adam Rosenzweig says one of the most interesting aspects of the massive South Philly market lies in just how similar the demographics of the ultra-dense Southeast and Southwest regions really are. "You have a tremendous demographic that has a need to consume," he says. "It's really a great market for everybody to operate in." |
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| Here's Harkins Builders project engineer Paul Kraunelis with Urban Engineers VP Roy Denmark Jr, chatting at the always-popular pre-event schmooze. Harkins recently wrapped the Brightview South River project in Maryland, which was the state's first-ever seniors living facility to earn LEED. |
