The Cooper Commercial Investment Group has been exclusively retained by ownership to sell the 100% fee simple interest in Pine Plaza, an 87,093 S.F. retail center located in Niagara Falls, New York. The featured asset is located in a thriving retail market that helps to accommodate the approximate 10 million visitors a year that make their way to the region, along with the employment base to service the tourism industry. The high-quality investment has beend reduced to $9,610,000, representing an 8.75% CAP Rate and an unusually high year-1 cash-on-cash return of almost 14%! The center is comprised of an excellent mix of tenants with approximately 60% of the center exercising lease renewals within the past two years. Most notably, anchor tenant Office Depot recently executed an early 10-year lease extension taking them out through May of 2028, while high-traffic generator Planet Fitness is signed through 2025. The 88% occupied Pine Plaza is positioned in an extremely high barrier to entry market. Many of the tenants are original to the center and have exercised renewals term after term proving their commitment and dedication to the center and market. In addition, upside potential is still achievable through lease-up of the remaining vacant units.
The property draws a tremendous flow of traffic from the main retail corridor along Niagara Falls Blvd., with a whopping 44,000 VPD directly in front of the center. Pine Plaza offers tremendous frontage along the main roadway with close to 1,000 feet along this main retail artery and is surrounded by other top-named retailers, including Target, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Walmart Supercenter, Chipotle and the very popular, Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA, which boasts Marshall’s, Nike, GAP, Under Armour and 200 other retailers, all less than 0.25 miles from the property. Pine Plaza sits strategically between the I-190 interchange and the Outlets, and the Fashion Outlets are regarded as a top outlet center in the country, with sales at approximately $650/SF. This dominant corridor draws a constant flow of traffic to and from this retail hotspot.
Pine Plaza benefits from approximately $1 million in CapX upgrades, including: parking lot overlay, roof replacements on approximately 70% of the Center and major façade and paint projects The property also has excellent visibility due to its prominent monument signage along the main road, signalized corner location and multiple point of ingress and egress between 3 roadways.
Being positioned along Niagara Falls Blvd. (Route 62), one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the region creates a huge advantage point for Pine Plaza. Not only does it sit on the main roadway but also has easy access to all of the area highways and is only 1-mile to I-190, the direct route to Buffalo, New York, located 16 miles south. Traffic Counts along I-190 are in upwards of 64,000 VPD. The immediate area boasts a strong residential community with average household incomes of approximately $65,000 within 3-miles and draws from a dense tourist region of millions of visitors from around the world each year. Pine Plaza is the dual beneficiary of the constant flow of tourism to the region, but also serves as a provider to all those living in the immediate area that are needed to support the thriving industry.
Being located as part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls MSA, the area is flourishing with an impressive range of industries, from healthcare to energy services to retail, manufacturing tourism services and beyond. Some of the largest employers in the area include Kaleida Health (8,194 employees), Catholic Health System (7,368 employees), M&T Bank (7,013 employees), Roswell Park Institute (3,239 employees), Geico Insurance (3,200 employees) and one of the top attractions for tourism, the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, who employs over 3,000 and is less than 5 miles away. There are over 35 companies in the region that boast more than 1,000 employees adding a built-in employment base and residents to the area. Furthermore, Niagara University (5 miles north) has approximately 4,200 students and 607 employees, while Niagara County Community College with enrollment of approximately 5,050 and an additional staff of 650 is a short distance to the north. With the property’s strategic placement, excellent visibility and frontage along main roadway packaged with its proximity to the area’s tourists, employees, students and residents; the asset is positioned for years to come.