Irgang Group Acquires Poplin Place Shopping Center in Metro Charlotte, N.C.

MONROE, N.C., March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Irgang Group has completed the acquisition of Poplin Place, a fully-leased, 196,462-square-foot power center in this Charlotte suburb. Built in 2005, the center is anchored by TJ Maxx, Ross, Big Lots, and Burlington, and is shadow-anchored by a Target that incorporates a full grocery and wine/liquor department.

In its third retail property acquisition since September 2021—adding approximately 719,000 square feet of GLA to its portfolio—the Nyack, N.Y.-based real estate investment and management firm purchased the 30.21-acre site from Big V Property Group. Ben Bruner, President of the Bruner Group, represented Irgang Group on the transaction, while Big V was represented by a JLL Capital Markets Retail team led by Senior Director Thomas Kolarczyk, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of U.S. Retail Capital Markets Danny Finkle, and Senior Director Eric Williams.

Poplin Place's five anchors are accompanied by a lineup that includes PetSmart, Dollar General's Popshelf concept and Boot Barn—each occupying 10,000 square feet or more. Other national tenants include Rack Room Shoes, Bath & Body Works, Kay Jewelers, Spectrum internet and a newly signed Claire's.

Located at 2901 W. Roosevelt Blvd. (U.S. 74), Poplin Place is a 30-minute drive from Charlotte's Uptown central business district. As a regional "live/work/play" corridor, U.S. 74 delivers an average daily vehicle count of 37,500 to the site, which is situated on the 'going-home' side of the road.

The property serves a market of 200,116 residents within 10 miles, with an average household incomes of $108,575. Between 2021 and 2026, the market's population is expected to grow by 9%.

"As we looked for acquisition opportunities in the Southeast, Poplin Place provided more than a outstanding tenant lineup and demographics," said Irgang Group CEO Mark Irgang. "We were also impressed by the center's ability to rapidly recover from the wave of retail bankruptcies and downsizings in the 2018 to 2020 period.. Big V did a superb job repositioning the property with a stable mix of strong tenants well suited to this growing market."

Indeed, within a 25-month period, major vacancies at the site were snapped up by Burlington and Popshelf, which signed new leases totaling 42,000 square feet, taking the former Gander Mountain and Party City spaces, respectively. Additionally, the center's former Dress Barn space was divided to accommodate newcomers Bath & Body Works and Spectrum.

Meanwhile, existing anchors TJ Maxx, Ross and PetSmart completed long-term renewals for another 82,287 square feet. All told, those new leases and renewals today account for approximately 70% of Poplin Place's total GLA.

"Additionally, underscoring its commitment to the property, Big Lots previously renewed and enlarged its Poplin Place footprint to 37,000 square feet by expanding into the adjoining former Pier 1 space," Mr. Irgang noted.

With 3.38 million annual visits, Poplin Place is ranked within the top 10 percentile for shopping centers nationally, according to Placer.ai. Notably, the site's Target is the chain's only location within 15-plus miles and draws over 1.2 million visits per year.

"Poplin Place is an outstanding retail destination with exceptional fundamentals and highly productive retailers, spanning value merchandise, services, apparel, and home furnishings," said JLL's Kolarczyk said. "Irgang Group will benefit from stable, credit-quality cash flow and adds an excellent asset to their growing portfolio." Kolarczyk added.

Irgang Group, which had previously focused on multi-unit residential and mixed-use properties in New York City, diversified into the suburban shopping sector last year. The company began with the September 2021 acquisition of Main Street South Fulton, a 129,449-square-foot neighborhood shopping center in metro Atlanta. Kroger anchors the 100%-occupied property, joined by such other notable tenants as Dollar Tree, Rainbow and Humana. This was followed by the purchase of Union Lake Crossing in Millville, N.J. in November. The 393,000-square-foot power center is shadow-anchored by Target, and houses a mix led by a recently expanded and remodeled Shop-Rite supermarket, Kohl's, Ross, Staples, and PetSmart.

"While proceeding with a number of urban redevelopment projects in New York City, we also continue to pursue additional retail real estate opportunities across the country," said Mr. Irgang. "Our acquisition team is focused on well-anchored outdoor centers with a minimum of 100,000 square feet of gross leasable area."

Sellers or brokers with acquisition opportunities can contact Mr. Irgang at: [email protected]

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

Note to Media: Property photos are available from Jaffe Communications.

SOURCE Irgang Group