Big Bucks Behind Bergen’s Busy Shopping Spot

A supermarket-based shopping plaza in Bergen County just landed a $71. 3 million loan package. The centerpiece is Lewandowski Commons, a 77, 743-square-foot retail hub in Lyndhurst built around a Stop & Shop store. Another $71 million chunk of the money goes toward six more grocery-anchored shopping centers scattered across Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia. All seven buildings share one unusual trait—they’re almost completely full, with only 0. 3% of space sitting empty. The Bergen County property sits just seven miles from New York City in one of the state’s wealthiest counties. Within a three-mile radius the typical household brings in more than $138, 000 a year, and within five miles you’ll find more than 600, 000 people. That kind of density and income is hard for most retail landlords to ignore. The New Jersey center benefits from the Stop & Shop’s strong sales numbers, which top $700 per square foot. Tenants here pay an average of about 2. 2% of revenue for rent, a figure that keeps landlords happy without pushing grocers too far. Its southern cousins enjoy similar stability, anchored by Publix and Kroger stores in growing metro areas like Atlanta, Myrtle Beach, and Virginia Beach.Investors seem to love grocery-anchored plazas because they rarely face big drops in rent or occupancy. When a recession hits, people still need food, so the stores keep writing checks. Northern New Jersey’s high incomes and packed streets make the math even more attractive. Banks understand this pattern—they’ve handed out similar deals for years. The financing itself came together through two separate moves. One loan for Lewandowski Commons came from a company called Protective Life, arranged by a debt advisory team. The bundle of six Southern properties used a different lender, Nationwide, on behalf of a buyer named Medipower Group. The fact that multiple insurers are willing to back these purchases shows how predictable the income streams have become.