Metropolitan Realty Associates inks 121,000 s/f

Metropolitan Realty Associates LLC, has snagged a national retail tenant for 711 Stewart Ave.: BJ's Wholesale Club. BJ's, the Natick, Mass.-based retailer, leased 121,000 s/f at the 335,000 s/f mixed-use property, which has been renamed Garden City Square. Terms were not disclosed. The building, which sits on 17 acres adjacent to Roosevelt Field, also includes medical and office space. "We are extremely pleased that BJ's recognized the strategic location of our property," Joseph Farkas, president of Jericho-based Metropolitan, said. "Our ability to quickly find a high-quality tenant for this space justified our decision to purchase this distressed property and confirmed our belief in its ability to attract quality retailers for the vacant space. Today, numerous national retailers are actively pursuing retail space opportunities at the property." Jericho-based Metropolitan, with its equity partner, New York City-based Angelo, Gordon Co., bought 711 Stewart Ave. in May 2010 for $15 million, or just $44 a square foot. The building was 71 percent vacant at the time. John Hanlon of RIPCO Realty represented BJ's. Matthew Wallerstein, vice president of Metropolitan, represented the landlord in-house. The warehouse is expected to open to shoppers in October 2012 BJ's had been seeking a location in the Garden City area for five years and, in fact, had negotiated prior deals for space at 711 Stewart Ave. but was unable to close on them. Hanlon said. He said Metropolitan, unaware of the earlier deals, bought the site on "gut instinct" and then signed a lease with BJ's. The deal, Hanlon said, "will turn a withering asset into a major profit center." For BJ's, the lease provides it a strategically located, highly visible location adjacent to the 2.2-million-square-foot Roosevelt Field Mall, Long Island's largest shopping mall. The new BJ's site is accessible from Ring Road, which circles the sprawling mall, and from Stewart Avenue, a major thoroughfare. The property is close to Meadowbrook Parkway, making it accessible from the Northern and Southern State Parkways and the Long Island Expressway. Roosevelt Field's trade area encompasses nearly all of Nassau County and its population totaled more than 1.4 million in 2009, according to the mall's web site. The trade area has an average annual household income of more than $115,000, with more than a third of the households earning at least $100,000 and 12 percent earning $150,000 or more for the year. As of March 2, 2011 BJ's Wholesale Club operated 190 warehouse clubs in 15 states, including seven on Long Island. The company's stores average about 113,000 square feet, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It also operates 20 smaller format warehouse clubs that averaged about 72,000 square feet. Including space for parking, a typical full-sized BJ's club requires 13 to 14 acres of land. BJ's clubs are located in both freestanding locations and shopping centers.  A CB Richard Ellis team headed by Richard Karson and including Robert Siedenberg, Greg Carlin, David Zelinski, and Daniel Brandel, is the exclusive leasing agent for the property. For leasing information regarding office, medical or retail opportunities at Garden City Square contact Karson at the firm's Woodbury, N.Y. office (516) 677-1725. About Metropolitan Realty Associates Established in 2001, Jericho, N.Y.-based Metropolitan Realty Associates LLC is a national real estate investment and development firm, owning more than 1 million square feet of office space on Long Island. Metropolitan Realty Associates owns the Business and Research Center at Garden City, in Garden City, NY, the Sunrise Business Center in Great River, N.Y., the Jericho Atrium in Jericho, N.Y., and Garden City Square. It also has important investments in development projects in New York City and many other properties across the country. It recently purchased 15 East 26th St., strategically located between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue in New York City. For more information about Metropolitan Realty Associates visit www.metropolitanra.com. ###