Urstadt Biddle buys $50m Stratford shopping center.

Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. has announced the acquisition of The Dock Shopping Center, a 269,000 square foot retail center in Stratford, Connecticut, and an adjacent 192-slip marina along the Housatonic River, for a purchase price of $50.25 million.

The property is UBP's ninth retail acquisition in Connecticut. Willing Biddle, President and Chief Operating Officer of UBP said, "The Dock is a great shopping center in a great location. We are extremely pleased to add it to our portfolio of market dominant retail properties in the Connecticut and Metropolitan New York areas".

The Dock is one of the largest retail centers in the Fairfield County trade area and is anchored by a 60,000 square foot Stop & Shop Supermarket. The tenant roster also includes Staples, Petco. JoAnne Fabrics, Toy Works and Blockbuster Video, as well as a former 100,000 square foot Bradlee's, that is currently being aggressively marketed by the new owner.

An established and successful retail hub that serves the Stratford, Milford and Shelton trade areas, the highly-visible center is located directly on Route 1 at the junction of I-95 and Route 110, and benefits from a traffic count of over 172,000 vehicles per day, as well as its densely-populated surroundings.

UBP purchased The Dock Shopping Center from the Connecticut-based Osborne family, who has owned and operated the property for several generations. The center was built in 1971 on the site acquired by the family in 1951, and operated as a coal yard for two decades. In 1968, when the local power plant switched to oil, the Osbornes ceased running the yard and built the shopping center on the property. In 1986, the retail center was expanded, and in the 1990's, the adjacent Marina at the Dock was constructed.

Charles J. Urstadt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented "This acquisition is one of our largest to date and continues our strategic goal to be the dominant retail real estate owner in Fairfield and Westchester Counties".

UBP owns 34 shopping centers in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Jersey. Other holdings include Ridgeway Center (Stamford, CT), Goodwives Center (Darien, CT), and Westchester Pavilion (White Plains, NY).