ALLENTOWN, PA — Since purchasing Tilghman Square Shopping Center in 2009, Larken Associates’ renovations, reasonable leasing rates, and marketing acumen have turned the area eyesore into an appealing location for well-known brands. Tesla has opened a Supercharger station that includes eight charging stalls for Model S and Model X owners free of charge. Tilghman Square Shopping Center was chosen for its location as a midway stop between New York City and the Harrisburg corridor,” said Victor Kelly, executive vice president of Larken Associates “We are excited to welcome Tesla Motors to our shopping center”. “Larken’s attention to aesthetic detail is the icing on the cake for retailers,” said Derek Zerfass, Senior Vice President, Allentown Retail Division for Colliers International. “Its willingness to be realistic about rental rates, flexible on leasing deals, and its knowledge of the market have definitely made this property easy to lease.”
Larken’s renovations to the mall included new landscaping, new curbing and islands, new decorative cross walks and repaving of the main transit driveway and an outparcel for Moe’s Restaurant. The shopping center is currently 100 percent leased including the outparcels that the developer created since purchase for Moes, Jamba Juice and Univest Bank.
Another well-known company, AMC Theater re-signed a long-term lease and underwent a complete remodel of its 29,000 s/f facility in December, and are already attracting additional customers to the mall with its recliner seats, state of the art sound system, viewing screens and satellite transmission, and plans to provide food and adult drinks at its MacGuffins® Bar & Lounge. “We chose Tilghman Square because of its core location near Lehigh Valley’s five major roadways including the only PA Turnpike entrance in the area and its appeal to a growing population interested in settling here for the Parkland and East Penn school systems,” said David Gardner, President and CEO of Larken Associates. “Its proximity to St. Luke’s Hospital and several other medical buildings offers the center, robust daytime traffic. More than 1,000 new units of multi-family, single family and townhomes are being built right now—we entered this market at a great time and plan to stay here for a long time to come.” Additional new Tilghman Square tenants include Eye 2 Eye Vision Center opening a 2,480 s/f space. Oishi Japanese Restaurant and Igloo Cryotherapy both opened in October attracting their own fan base as well as benefiting from the already extensive foot traffic from long-standing tenants including Planet Fitness, Harbor Freight Tools and Staples. Smaller tenants including G & K Pharmacy have invested in growing larger, recently expanding their store from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet. For leasing information, call 908.874.8686 or log onto www.LarkenAssociates.com. For a photo of the Tesla Supercharger Station click here.
About Larken Associates A two-generation, family-owned business since 1965, Larken Associates is widely-recognized as one of the region’s fastest growing, well-respected companies. Based in Branchburg, NJ, Larken has been responsible for developing prominent residential and commercial projects throughout the Tri-State area.