Walgreens
The Challenge
Walgreens, a longstanding DLC client, had a void in the Paterson marketplace which it was eagerly looking to fill. St. Joseph’s hospital was expanding its already sizable presence in the area, and the population density made this a target location with huge potential upside. However, land availability, especially the size required by the standard Walgreens footprint, is not readily available in urban marketplaces such as Paterson. This required a strategic partner who was willing to do legwork upfront to find a solution that was not available on in the marketplace, and someone who was willing to work with the neighbors, municipality, adjacent business, local contractors and the hospital to get the buy-in that would make this project a success.
Superior work ethic has always been a hallmark of team DLC. I’ve never worried that we haven't done everything we could in any given situation.
Adam Ifshin Founder & CEOThe Solution
The first step in this team effort was to find a number of private residences that could be purchased and assembled. Through community outreach and meeting with other developers in the area DLC was able to fast track this process by finding a group of buildings for sale. With three more well thought out and timed acquisitions a lot assemblage which would accommodate a prototype building was secured. During this process DLC opened up the lines of communication with the municipality and hospital board to present and get input and general acceptance work with the municipality, neighbors and the hospital.
With the residential lot sizes, and the need to maximize every inch of land, came some specific construction issues which required civil knowledge and understanding. Sheet piles, solider piles and other means were worked into the locally sources subcontractors scope of work. There were also a number of abandoned fuel tanks which needed to be remediated, removed and signed off by the City and 3rd party environmental firms. With DLC’s knowledge and experience working hand in hand with many of the areas contractors this was not a prohibiting issue. Keeping a workforce consisting of very local employees provided a high level of cooperation with the neighborhood, and help to keep the money in the local marketplace as well.
From the date of permit we were able to turn this space around and help turnover to Walgreens within 10 months. Not only has this been an incredible successful location for Walgreens, but it served as a catalyst in the area and there were six other major projects which ensued in the next calendar year. DLC still communicates with the hospital and the store’s management team to ensure the project continues to be both a social and financial success.
Success Story Highlights
Identifying & Creating The Right Opportunity
- Extremely Dense Urban Setting
- Target established at entrance to regional medical center
- Target consisted of 9 separate parcels owned by 5 different ownership groups
- Prior historical usages dating back to 1900’s
