CLIFTON, NJ, February 17, 2000 -- A new 104,000 square foot BigKmart discount department store opened last week at Botany Plaza shopping center. The new store is located on the south end of the center where the property is bisected by the Clifton/Passaic city line. This places the new stores within a New Jersey "Urban Enterprise Zone," where shoppers benefit from reduced sales taxes. The Big Kmart shares a newly constructed building with a new 7,900 square foot Fashion Bug women’s specialty store which opened a few months ago.

Kmart Corporation operates over 2000 stores throughout the country. Store manager Gene Karwacki says that "Our new store at Botany Plaza should have a significant impact on the local economy including the creation of approximately 300 new jobs."

Botany Plaza Leasing Manager Dennis Cieri commented that "After breaking ground last summer for our second development phase, we were pleased to see the new Kmart open right on schedule. This now brings our occupancy rate at the center to 98%."

Botany Plaza is located at the intersection of Randolph and Ackerman Avenues, adjacent to the Botany Village section of Clifton. The center is anchored by the new Big Kmart and a Pathmark Super Center that opened in March, 1997. Other stores include a TrustCompany Bank branch, GNC General Nutrition Center, Mail Boxes Etc., Discount Liquors, Dollar Mania, Clifton Buffet, Re/Max Realtors and The Laundry Factory.

Botany Plaza is managed by Winbrook Realty Group, Inc. of New York City, (212-643-8080) which manages a number of other Mid Atlantic retail and mixed use properties including the 600,000 square foot Cedarbrook Plaza shopping center in suburban Philadelphia, PA.