Blue Star Shopping Center Shows Strong Rebound
Blue Star rebounds: visitors +40.1% to 3.8M. New leases and tenants like Sakura, honeygrow, Raising Cane’s and iSmash.
WATCHUNG – The reports of the death of the traditional suburban shopping center may be exaggerated.
The Blue Star Shopping Center, one of the oldest shopping centers in Central Jersey, has seen a 40.1% increase in visitors in the past year to about about 3.8 million annual visitors, with the center signing more tenants, according to Levin Management, manager of the property.
The shopping center has also signed more than 23,000 square feet of new leases to reflect changes in the customer base and the retail market with a mix of dining and entertainment uses.
“The visit numbers tell the story,” said Matthew K. Harding, chief executive officer of Levin Management. “A 40% increase isn’t a blip. It reflects a fundamentally more compelling place to spend time. We’ve been intentional about building a mix where dining, entertainment and convenience retail reinforce each other, and the retailer demand we’re seeing confirms that strategy is working.”
Additions to the center include fast-casual dining places like Sakura Teriyaki, as well as honeygrow which specializes in stir-fries, salads, and honeybars. A Raising Cane’s restaurant is being built on the site of the former Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet.
Blue Star is also adding iSmash, a 7,234-square-foot site that will serve as one of the entertainment spots for customers. iSmash will have rage rooms, black light splatter painting, and axe throwing for groups or individuals.
Back Nine is the other entertainment venue set to open at the center. The indoor golf simulator facility is 5,465 square feet and will provide 24-hour access to customers looking to improve their golf game.
Burlington recently opened at the shopping center and Marshalls is expected to open soon. The 420,000-square-foot shopping center already hosts major tenants such as ShopRite, Kohl’s, Five Below, Dollar Tree, KidStrong, Taco Bell, Five Guys and Planet Fitness.
According to Levin Management, the Blue Star Shopping Center serves a market of 269,000 residents within a five-mile radius. The average household income of the area sits at $208,000, leading to a high local demand for shopping.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.mycentraljersey.com ’
