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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. January 16, 2003: The urbane, upbeat President and COO of White Plains newest bigtime player, Urstadt Biddle Properties, told the Westchester County Board of Realtors Commercial & Investment Division, his aggressive, profit-oriented organization liked the retail mix of the Westchester Pavilion, and was planning to add a second floor above Office Max and Borders and is looking for tenants before executing the expansion. The garage will be turned into paid parking.
NEW MAN IN THE DOWNTOWN:Willing Biddle, making his media debut in White Plains, said his company is bullish on Westchester County, looking to acquire more properties and did not rule out White Plains properties along Mamaroneck Avenue, if ample parking was developed.
PHOTO BY WPCNR BUSINESS
The confident, easygoing retail leader, provided evidence that the White Plains building boom is already having its effect Thursday morning at the first breakfast meeting of the WCBR Commercial & Investment Division.
Biddle said , when asked if the City Center project had played a role in attracting Urstadt Biddle to purchase the Westchester Pavilion in December, Biddle said : “Yes, very much so. Retail wants to be where other retailers are at. We were attracted by the new Fortunoff (across from the Westchester Pavilion property), The Westchester, and we like the idea of all the new residential downtown.”
The Little Guys Considered.
Asked by WPCNR, if his company would consider acquiring other properties in White Plains, Biddle said he was looking for properties the company could acquire for $5MM and up, which was the minimum required, he felt “to make it a good investment for us.” Considering that the company paid $39.9 Million for the Westchester Pavilion, this would indicate that Urstadt Biddle would not rule out putting together a parcel of different properties. Asked if they might consider this, Mr. Biddle said they usually do not consider “street retail,” and that a lot depended on the parking available in the White Plains downtown for such a strategy to be considered.
HAVE VISION. WILL MAKEOVER: Biddle was bullish on White Plains, saying that he was aware rents had gone up considerably on properties lining the Mamaroneck Avenue corridor in the White Plains downtown, due to the building boom, sparked by the Cappeli City Center, the South Tower of which is shown at twilight Thursday night in the center of this picture. Biddle said the ‘boom” made downtown properties worth considering.
Photo by WPCNR Business
He was noncommittal on the specific attractiveness of the Mamaroneck Avenue strip from Main to Martine. Again, saying his company usually purchased existing shopping centers, not “street retail.”
All Good Things Considered.
Significantly, earlier in his slide-enhanced, informal and chock-full-of-message talk, he did not rule out that his eye could be caught by a certain kind of “street property.”
“MAKEOVER ARTIST:” Willing Biddle noted that his company had purchased a street block in the center of downtown Ridgefield, Connecticut from an individual that had vacancies similar to some properties in White Plains. He said Urstadt Biddle acquired the block, redesigned it, signed tenants and made over the block very successfully.
Photo by WPCNR BUSINESS
Westchester Pavilion to Expand. Paid Parking Coming.
Biddle, queried on the company’s plans for their newly acquired Westchester Pavilion, said their immediate plans were to refurbish the Pavilion parking garage to make it more attractive. He said the company would install paid parking to discourage freeloaders using the Pavilion garage to park for The Westchester, office buildings and other destinations in the area.
He said this would take the form of a parking validation system by retailers, with the first 30 minutes possibly free. He also said they would lightly refurbish the paneling on the garage facing the new Fortunoff side of the garage. “The garage is tired. It needs refurbishing, sprucing up,” Biddle remarked, saying the company hoped to expand the garage perhaps in the back of Outback Steakhouse.
THE WHITE PLAINS PAVILION ON SOUTH BROADWAY: Willing Biddle is looking at Another Floor over Office Max, Borders.
Photo by WPCNR Business
Biddle said the company is shopping for tenants who would occupy, and as of yet, mythical second floor of the Pavilion, to be built over the Office Max-Borders floor. He said at this point, they were looking at adding another discount retailer to fit the “basic needs” retail that currently exists at the Pavilion: McDonald’s, Office Max, Toys R Us, The Sports Authority, and Borders.
Biddle told WPCNR they would only come to the city when they had a tenant for the proposed second floor, and he judged that it would take 4 to 5 months before he would have a plan for the city to review. He said additional parking could be added to the existing deck in back of Office Max, and the roof of the newly proposed floor.
BRING US YOUR PROFITABLE AND TIRED PROPERTIES: Mr. Biddle began his talk to the realtors theming it as explaining how “we can make money together.” He said he invited them to acquaint him with properties throughout Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and The Bronx that the company might acquire.
Photo by WPCNR BUSINESS
The personable Mr. Biddle said his company uses an instrument he calls a down REIT that makes selling to Urstadt Biddle Properties, more tax-attractive to owners than paying outright cash by protecting them from the capital gains tax.
He said his acquisition of Arcadia Shopping Center in Ossining, was executed in this manner, resulting in excellent asset protection for the owner. The instrument, he said is explained in more detail on the company’s website, www.ubproperties.com.
