60K SF ShopRite Opens In Philadelphia’s Whitman Plaza Center

by Steve Lubetkin, Globest.com
A new ShopRite supermarket has opened in South Philadelphia. The new, 58,980 square-foot ShopRite store, at 330 Oregon Ave., occupies the former Pathmark store, and is operated by Colligas Family Markets, members of the Keasbey, NJ-based Wakefern Food Corp., a co-operative of more than 250 independently owned stores.

After an $8 million renovation, and with the opening of ShopRite, Whitman Plaza in South Philadelphia “once again stands out as the pre-eminent shopping center in South Philadelphia”, says Wilbur F. Breslin, CEO of Breslin Realty Development, and principal of South-Whit Shopping Center Associates.

Breslin arranged and negotiated the transaction that allowed the supermarket to relocate from a nearby site. South-Whit contributed to the cost of the new store’s buildout.

The new supermarket was renovated extensively to include a fresh bake shop; full service meat and seafood departments; prepared foods and catering; and grab-and-go meals such as sandwiches, heat-and-eat entrees and Asian cuisine. The store also features a specialty cheese department, an in-store café, and a shop-at-home delivery service. It employs around 300 workers.

“We are pleased to welcome the Colligas family and ShopRite to our center, and know that they will continue to provide residents of this densely populated South Philadelphia neighborhood with an exciting, modern supermarket to serve their everyday needs,” Breslin says.

ShopRite joins such national and regional tenants in the more-than 200,000-square-foot GLA community shopping center as Burlington Coat Factory, Ross Dress for Less, Pet Valu, PennDOT, Club Metro USA, Citizens Bank, Rainbow Shoppes, GameStop, GNC, Payless Shoe Source, and Party City. The center offers easy accessibility and high visibility from Oregon Avenue, I-76 and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Breslin Realty Development of Garden City, NY, manages the shopping center, which was built in 1980 by the Breslin organization, and was previously renovated in 2003. It now sports a completely new façade and more than 20,000 square feet of updated interior space.  New York architect Frankie Campione, of CREATE Architecture Planning & Design, redesigned the center’s façade using influences from the nearby industrial areas and the nearby stadium.
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