Saddle up, shopping center says, Boot Barn store headed this way

Vineland Daily Journal

MILLVILLE – East will be meeting West this fall at Union Lake Crossing Shopping Center.

The shopping center announced Wednesday that it just signed a lease with Boot Barn, the nation’s leading retailer of Western and work wear. The company is in 38 states currently and is entering New Jersey for the first time with stores in Millville and Cherry Hill.

“We are excited to be opening one of our first two New Jersey stores at Union Lake Crossing and believe that we will be well received by consumers in the expansive Cumberland County market this property draws from,” Boot Barn Vice President Charlie Arbing said.

New York-based Irgang Group, a real estate investment and management firm, acquired Union Lake Crossing in late 2021 from original developer Goodman Properties. A series of property improvements are being planned and at present the replacement of parking lot lights with a LED system is taking place, the firm said.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Irgang said the emphasis since buying the center is on landing tenants that will make it a “more dynamic destination for residents and daytime workers.”

“With their unique offering, Boot Barn fit that bill perfectly,” Irgang said. “Having witnessed their special brand of merchandising at Poplin Place, a center we recently purchased in North Carolina, we are thrilled to have them as the first new tenant since our acquisition of Union Lake.”   

 

Boot Barn has stores in Delaware and Pennsylvania. The chain, which has 303 sites nationally, is making a push north along the East Coast. Its Millville store will be located between Party City and Xfinity.  

According to Irgang Group, Union Lake Crossing is ranked as the No. 1 shopping center in the Greater Millville/Vineland area. Its primary market, located within a 15-minute drive radius, consists of 94,969 people in 34,400 households.

However, it regularly draws customers from longer distances. A ShopRite on site is the second most-visited grocery store in a 30-mile radius, the owner says.

Metro Commercial is the center’s leasing agent. Joseph Dougherty, its executive vice president, said brick-and-mortar centers are rebounding from the COVID pandemic and more lease announcements are expected in 2022.

Kohl’s, Ross Dress For Less, Staples, and PetSmart are among national chains at the center. Target occupies its own pad site within the center as a “shadow anchor.”

Union Lake Crossing occupies more than 43 acres off North 2nd Street at Union Lake Boulevard, near a Route 55 interchange.

By:

Joseph P. Smith

Vineland Daily Journal