Wilder Cos. Acquire Cumberland County Grocery-Anchored Center

by Steve Lubetkin, Globest.com

Boston-based The Wilder Companies, in partnership with an institutional real estate fund, have re-entered the Pennsylvania market, acquiring Silver Spring Square, a 342,600 square-foot dominant grocery anchored community center on Route 11 in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, PA.

“Silver Spring Square fits perfectly into our acquisition platform targeting dominant grocer-anchored centers throughout the East Coast,” says Shelley Anderson, director of new business development at Wilder. “We are excited to reestablish our expertise in the Pennsylvania market.” Wilder is a Boston-based real estate development, management, and leasing firm specializing in the positioning of retail properties. Privately held and owner managed, Wilder has developed, managed, and leased more than 20 million square feet of retail properties throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

The seller was DDR Corp., and buyer came direct.

Built in 2007, the shopping center includes as tenants industry leaders and national brands, anchored by a 126,240-square foot Wegmans Supermarket. This is Wegmans only store serving the greater Harrisburg MSA.

The property is shadow-anchored by a 139,377-square foot Target and an 87,000 square foot Kohl’s, bringing the contiguous square footage to 568,977 square feet.

The grocer and anchor tenants are complemented by major national retailers including Best Buy, Ross, Bed Bath & Beyond, Petco, Lane Bryant and Ulta, along with seven additional pads sites leased to Advance Auto Parts, Longhorn Steakhouse, Chilis, PNC, Chick-Fil-A, Panera Bread and Wells Fargo Bank, making Silver Spring Square a one-stop shopping destination for the customer base that lives and works on the Western Shore of Harrisburg. The property is 98-percent occupied as of closing, including a recent new lease with Old Navy, which is taking 12,295 square feet in a former Office Max space.

Silver Spring Square is located along Carlisle Pike (Route 11), approximately 10 miles west of the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg. This submarket has seen significant growth in retailer distribution centers / industrial warehousing because of its location in the I-78/I-81 corridor, which allows easy movement avoiding I-95 between major metropolitan areas like New York City, Baltimore, and Washington DC.
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