Boot Barn Signs Lease for Union Lake Crossing Shopping Center in Millville, NJ

The 14,400- square-foot store will be among two locations marking national chain's entry into New Jersey; lease reflects new property owner Irgang Group's efforts to enhance tenant mix at the 393,000-square-foot power center.

MILLVILLE, N.J., May 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Irgang Group today announced that it has signed national retailer Boot Barn to a lease for a 14,354-square-foot store at Union Lake Crossing, a 393,000-square-foot power center serving the greater Millville-Vineland market in southern New Jersey.

The Union Lake Crossing store will be among two initial locations that Boot Barn is opening in New Jersey later this year, as the 303-unit  chain pushes northward along the East Coast from existing locations in Delaware and Pennsylvania. The other New Jersey store will be in Cherry Hill. Currently operating in 38 states, Boot Barn ranks as the nation's leading lifestyle retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children.

Boot Barn's Union Lake Crossing store is expected to debut this fall, occupying a space between Party City and Xfinity. The chain will join a mix led by shadow anchor Target, along with Shop-Rite, Kohl's, Ross Dress For Less, Staples, and PetSmart. Other notable tenants include Famous Footwear, Party City, Five Below, Buffalo Wild Wings, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Sonic. Over 95% of the property's occupied space is held by national tenants.

Irgang Group, a Nyack, N.Y.-based real estate investment and management firm, acquired the 43.39-acre site from Goodman Properties in November 2021. Located in the heart of Cumberland County's regional shopping hub, the property is situated at the signalized intersection of North 2^nd St. (State Hwy. 47) and Union Lake Blvd., with easy access to State Hwy. 55, a major north-south freeway in southern New Jersey.

Ranked as the No. 1 shopping center in the greater Millville/Vineland market, the property draws from a primary market that includes 94,969 people in 34,440 households within a 15-minute drive. But with its 73,740-square-foot ShopRite ranked as the second most visited grocer within a 30-mile radius, Union Lake Crossing's patrons travel from well beyond that primary market, expanding the site's reach to 213,019 people in 72,980 households within a 25-minute drive.

"Our exclusive leasing agent, Metro Commercial Real Estate, has been working diligently to introduce new tenants that will make Union Lake Crossing an even more dynamic destination for residents and daytime workers in our region," said Irgang Group CEO Mark Irgang. "With their unique offering, Boot Barn fit that bill perfectly. Having witnessed their special brand of merchandising at Poplin Place, a center we recently purchased in North Carolina, we are thrilled to have them as the first new tenant since our acquisition of Union Lake."    

Joseph Dougherty, Executive VP and Principal with Metro Commercial, added: "As brick-and-mortar retailing continues to come back from the effects of the Pandemic, we've had strong interest from a number of national, regional and local tenants for Union Lake's remaining vacancies and expect to announce more signed leases as the year progresses."

Meanwhile, Dougherty noted that Famous Footwear, an original tenant at Union Lake Crossing, just renewed  the lease for its 6,983-square-foot store. 

In addition to the leasing activity, Irgang Group is plotting a series of physical improvements to the property that began with a first-ever installation of holiday decorations immediately after acquiring the center (including retrofitting most parking lot poles to accommodate holiday lighting) and continued with the project now under way to replace all parking lot lighting with LED lamps. "This will not only promote energy efficiency, but will also enhance visibility and safety throughout the parking areas," said Irgang. "Other improvements are on the way, as our team works to make Union Lake even more connected to the needs of our shoppers."

Commenting on his company's decision to open at the center,  Boot Barn VP-Real Estate Charlie Arbing said: "We are excited to be opening one of our first two New Jersey stores at Union Lake Crossing and believe that we will be well received by consumers in the expansive Cumberland County market this property draws from."

In addition to its brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce channel, www.bootbarn.com,  the company operates www.sheplers.com, the nation's leading pure play online western and work retailer, and www.countryoutfitter.com, an e-commerce site selling to customers who live a country lifestyle.

Irgang Group was represented by Metro Commercial on the lease, while Boot Barn was represented by CBRE.

For leasing information on Union Lake Crossing, contact, Joseph Dougherty, [email protected]

Media contacts: At Jaffe Communications Bill Parness, [email protected], (732) 673-6852, or Elisa Krantz, [email protected],mailto: (908) 789-0700.

SOURCE Irgang Group