Retail center sells for $27M
January 8, 2004
Scranton Times
DICKSON CITY -- Dan Siniawa, the father of development along Commerce Boulevard , has sold the Dickson City Crossings shopping center to a New York real estate investment trust for more than $27 million.
Under an agreement with New Plan Excel Realty Trust, Siniawa & Associates will continue to manage Dickson City Crossings for an undisclosed period of time, Mr. Siniawa said.
Dickson City Crossings has a strong lineup of tenants with high-volume sales, said Sarah Lipschitz, a spokeswoman for New Plan. Commerce Boulevard, she said, is one of the main retail corridors in the region.
The 301,000-square-foot Dickson City Crossings opened in November 1996. Among the stores in the center are T.J. Maxx, Home Depot, Circuit City, Dick's Sporting Goods and PetsMart.
The shopping center was sold for $27.3 million, according to courthouse records. An adjacent property also was sold to New Plan for $805,000, according to records. Mr. Siniawa said the second parcel will be the site of the new Starbucks, expected to open this year.
The Mid Valley School District and Dickson City Borough each netted $140,625, or one half a percent of the sale price, as a result of the real estate transfer tax.
New Plan Excel Realty Trust owns nearly 400 community and neighborhood shopping centers in 32 states, including 15 in Pennsylvania. The company has about 50 million square feet of gross leasable space in its centers.
The company owns 45 other retail facilities totaling about 3 million square feet. The occupancy rate of its properties was approximately 90 percent at the end of 2002. In 2002, the company's revenues were $392 million.
Mr. Siniawa continues to own the remaining large commercial properties along Commerce Boulevard. He is considering taking his development efforts outside the area, he said, including development opportunities in New York state.
He plans to meet Dickson City officials to discuss future potential development in the borough, including the remaining acres around Commerce Boulevard and a possible townhouse development behind Kmart on Business Route 6.
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