Shop City Sold for $16.25M to Connecticut Investors

SYRACUSE-Shop City has been sold for $16.25 million to the Paragon Realty Group, a private real-estate investment company based in Southport, Conn.

Daniel Weinreb, principal at Paragon Realty Group, says that his company is actively pursuing other commercial properties in the Central New York area.

Shop City is a 250,000-sq.-ft.

open-air mall that houses about 30 businesses and has been serving the Central New York area for almost 50 years. The shopping center is located on the corner of Teall Avenue and Grant Boulevard in Syracuse. The mall is anchored by Ames, Eckerd Drugs, Blockbuster Video, and Peter's Groceries. Other notable tenants include Advance Auto Parts, M&T Bank, Pizza Hut, Rentway, Radio Shack, Empire Vision Center, and Fleet Bank. Weinrab says, "It was a terrifically located shopping center in a great area with a very good tenant base and a good mix of tenants. We were impressed with the success of the tenants there, with the longevity of the center, and also that there seems to be not a great deal of retail competition within the immediate area."

John Nelson, managing principal of Paragon Realty Group, adds, "The center has been under the same ownership for 35 years, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to add this to our expanding portfolio of value-added properties."

Upper New York Realty, located at 109 Pine St. in Syracuse, previous owners of Shop City, declined to comment on the deal, which was finalized in July.

A business partnership begun by Peter Muserlian, Sr., and Michael Falcone, Upper New York Realty had owned Shop City since the mid 1960s. Muserlian, Sr., died in November of last year.

Paragon Realty Group was formed in June 1999. According to a company press release, its primary focus is the acquisition and redevelopment of neighborhood and community shopping centers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

As of Nov. 1, 1999, Paragon Realty Group owned 11 properties, most of them shopping centers. Its real-estate portfolio includes Torrington Parkade Shopping Center in Torrington, Conn.; Valley Plaza Shopping Center in Hagerstown, Md.; Southside Shopping Center in Scranton, Pa.; Wadsworth Plaza Shopping Center and Adams & Tabor Shopping Center in Philadelphia, Pa.; and Sunset Plaza Shopping Center in Chambersburg, Pa. Shop City is Paragon Realty's first upstate New York property.