Clarion Partners purchased the property from Moonbeam Capital Investments in February for $22 million, future use of the site remains to be seen.
Stephen Finn
The Sun
The long-vacant Burlington Center Mall has found new ownership with Clarion Partners, a Dallas-based real estate developer of business centers and industrial parks, which purchased the property for $22 million in February.
In January 2018, the embattled Burlington Center Mall finally gave up the ghost after a gradual decline that saw retail stores flee the sinking vessel one by one.
A single Sears store was all that remained, under separate ownership than the rest of the mall, until it too flew the coop the following September.
The final nail in the coffin for the property came in the form of burst water pipes that caused extensive damage. Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC, the mall’s owners at the time, announced its official closure shortly after.
Moonbeam purchased the mall for $3.4 million in 2012, with hopes of breathing new life into the property.
“We originally bought it to redevelop it, make it a mixed-use, high-end retail center but the economy turned its back on us. Retail began crumbling, and we realized we had to redesign the project several times,” said CEO Steven Maksin.
According to Maksin, retail tenants couldn’t pay enough for a grandiose redevelopment project.
“We had some interest, but not a lot,” said Maksin.
Moonbeam eventually abandoned plans for redevelopment and made the recent sale of the property to Clarion.
A representative for Clarion Partners could not be reached for comment.
According to Mayor Brian Carlin, Clarion had previously approached township council with various concepts and ideas for the property. The last time they spoke with council they proposed a mixed-use plan, including warehousing between the mall site and 295 and retail space along Route 541. At the time, council ultimately deemed the proposal “not acceptable.”
“In terms of what the market is bearing, it’s something that would be consistent with the market, however the concern we had was the balance of usage,” said Carlin.
The mayor says density issues in Clarion’s most recent proposal led to the council’s decision. A part of the proposal included 800 units of residential housing that would have put a strain on local schools that would need to take on a rapid influx of new students.
As a “gateway” to Burlington County, the mayor also considers the property a face for the area. As such, he says there are many factors at play when it comes to its future use.
According to Carlin, the township has commissioned a market study to see which uses it should be encouraging. He says it will be a topic of discussion during council’s next executive session.
“The Holy Grail would be an all-commercial retail site that is viable and has great stores,” said Carlin. “The reality is, I don’t know if that is something that will happen in this market today, so as a result we are looking for other options.”
Carlin says the township is working with Clarion on a solution that will work for all involved.
“They have been extremely understanding of the importance of the site and our concerns,” said Carlin. “They’re coming here and investing $22 million into our community, I don’t think they want to fail.”
