MARKET PLACE AT GARDEN STATE PARK

WINS IN 'BEST REAL ESTATE DEALS 2006'

         PHILADELPHIA, PA.--The Market Place at Garden State Park was

selected by a panel of top real estate executives as the retail division winner of the Philadelphia Business Journal's "Best Real Estate Deals 2006" competition.

    Developed by Jack Morris, founder of Edgewood Properties, Piscataway, N.J., and leased by Fameco Real Estate of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., the ambitious Market Place project is a unique mixed-use community rising on the site of the former Garden State Park race track on Route 70 and Haddonfield Road in Cherry Hill, N.J.  The "deal" is valued at $500-$550 million.

    The plans call for a 530,000 s.f. "power center," nearly 1,700 residential units, 1 million s.f. of office space and 80,000 s.f. of  "lifestyle space."  According to Morris, what he is building will become a brand new  downtown, not just for upscale Cherry Hill residents, but for all of South Jersey. An additional 205,000 s.f. of lifestyle retail space is expected to be added later.

    Among the major tenants already signed by Fameco Real Estate for the Market Place are Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Christmas Tree Shops and Wegman's Food Market. Small shop retailers joining the mix include Panera Bread, Olly Shoes, Baja Fresh, Hair Cuttery and Vitamin Shoppes.  Citizens Bank and Houlihans have signed on for pad sites. Fameco Principal Steve O'Malley, who heads the leasing team for Market Place, said, "We are very pleased with the excellent mix of tenants we have signed, especially Wegman's, which is a magnet for other retailers as well as customers who love the wide variety of foods and other amenities offered by Wegman's that few competitors can match."

    Morris said he has come to appreciate what the former race track meant to Cherry Hill as a meeting place in its heyday.  He hopes his development will bring that same kind of vibrant life back to the community. "We've designed a community where people can work, live, shop and play," he said.  "There's going to be a trolley service running through the community, walking trails and paths, and both active and passive recreation so people will be able to live a lifestyle that, we believe, will be second to none."

Oct 27, 2006