WYNCOTE, PA - An expansion of up to 80,000 sf is planned for Cedarbrook Plaza, the 600,000-sf shopping center here on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia. The owner, New York City-based Nassimi Realty Corp., acquired an adjacent 3.5-acre parcel for expansion of the existing 38-acre property. The acquisition gives the center approximately 350 feet of additional frontage and a third curb cut along Cheltenham Ave. and Mt. Pleasant St.

Phase I of the expansion breaks ground this month and will include three new pad sites totaling approximately 30,000 sf of leaseable space. Joyce Leslie, a retailer of women’s apparel, and Old Country Buffet have leased approximately 20,000 sf of Phase I, leaving another 10,000 sf available for four inline stores. Phase II, scheduled for completion in 2005, will contain between 40,000 and 50,000 sf.

Cedarbrook opened as an enclosed mall in 1963. An affiliate of Nassimi acquired the then ailing property in 1986 and, in several phases, subsequently "de-malled" it into three attached power strips. It is now approximately 90% occupied.

This January, Wal-Mart opened an 114,075-sf unit in a former Kmart location, which was disposed of during the retailer’s reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Other major tenants at Cedarbrook include a 64,500-sf Pathmark, a 51,516-sf Toys ’R Us and Modell’s Sporting Goods, Frank’s Nursery & Crafts, AJ Wright, Hollywood Video, Dots and Bally’s Total Fitness.

New York City-based Winbrook Management Inc. represented Nassimi in acquiring the additional acreage for an undisclosed price. Nassimi is a developer and redeveloper of shopping centers and office, industrial and residential properties, primarily in the Northeast, although it is now actively expanding in Florida. Winbrook is the leasing and management agent for more than 1.7 million sf of commercial and retail space in the Philadelphia, metropolitan New York, New Jersey, Florida and Ohio markets