Federal’s portfolio enables us to create new housing opportunities in high-demand areas that allow for a steady stream of shoppers to fuel our retail tenants. The result is a unique, elevated experience built to thrive in any economic turn. And that’s by design.
The redevelopment at Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center, outside of downtown Philadelphia, perfectly embodies this strategy. One example of Bala’s success is the chic boutique apartment building, The Delwyn.
“The Delwyn was an underutilized parking lot that just sat there idle for years,” said John Tschiderer, Federal’s senior vice president for development. “It was a field of dumpsters back there.”
The property’s come a long way since then. It’s now considered a great value and transformation in our portfolio and serves as a community hotspot for the booming inner-Philly market.
This achievement has inspired further residential development on the site, thereby providing more options for the built-in community to sustainable revenue for retailers.
“It has surpassed our expectations regarding what rental rates could be achieved at Bala Cynwyd. It’s a credit to our prime property location, great design and landscape architecture, the convenience provided to residents, and the superior hospitality-minded service our team delivers,” said Mike Ennes, senior vice president, mixed-use initiatives and corporate communications.
It takes a unique piece of real estate that has the potential to produce and maintain the high standards we require to greenlight a project. Our business strategy of integrating diverse real estate formats within strong demographics in sought-after areas enables us to produce superior outcomes, like we’ve seen in Bala Cynwyd. It’s no mistake that Federal’s portfolio, made up of these foundations, continues to yield more opportunities to harvest value.
Adding residential components to our centers has proved tantamount to retailers’ success. These tenants have adopted new methods to engage residents with offerings for insider experiences and services. Such tactics have led to an increase in revenue based on referrals, which are better suited to close-knit communities where word-of-mouth is more effective than traditional marketing.
“Creating living experiences in retail destinations is not something everyone can do. Our property locations and decades of experience transforming large mixed-use neighborhoods and applying those learnings to underutilized footprints enable us to craft hospitality-inspired residential spaces that are truly identifiable,” said Mike Ennes.
Stay tuned for more on our synergistic approach to residential and retail development.
