AG-Metropolitan JV Sells BJ’s, LA Fitness Condo Units on Long Island for $66M

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

HUH Hempstead BJ 2012, L.L.C. and HUH Hempstead LAF 2012, L.L.C., entities controlled by The Hampshire Companies, has purchased a BJ’s Wholesale Club and LA Fitness condominium units at Garden City Square in New York for nearly $66.3 million from AG-Metropolitan 711 Stewart Avenue, L.L.C., a joint venture of Metropolitan Realty Associates, L.L.C. and Angelo, Gordon & Co. 

CBRE’s New York Institutional Group represented the seller in the transaction and also procured the buyer.

“This was newly developed property in a highly desirable, infill market,” David Gavin, vice president, CBRE Group, told Commercial Property Executive. “The long-term leases (20 years with BJ’s and 15 years with LA Fitness) provide stable, long-term cash flow.”

The BJ’s Wholesale Club opened last November and is 121,000 square feet. LA Fitness is currently under construction and its 55,000-square-foot space will be opening in the summer.

The property sits within the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, considered one of the wealthiest and most heavily populated regions of the country. Recent census figures show the area has more than a half million residents with average incomes of over $110,000.

According to Gavin, the appeal of the property was increased by the neighborhood, as it sits within a dense retail corridor with numerous national retailers and direct accessibility to the adjacent 2.2 million-square-foot Roosevelt Field Mall.

The excellent retail market fundamentals within this dense corridor have attracted many national retailers including Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Costco, Macy’s, Stop & Shop and Nordstrom.

Garden City Square also includes 117,930 square feet of well-positioned medical/office space, which is owned as a separate condominium unit and was not included in this sale.