Cortlandt deal could have Walmart link

A shopping center owner and redeveloper in White Plains has acquired a property eyed as the potential site of a Walmart Supercenter in the town of Cortlandt at a price more than double that paid by its previous owner four years ago.

Acadia Realty Trust last month closed on its $11 million purchase of 3144 E. Main St., a 36-acre property across state Route 6 from Acadia”™s Cortlandt Town Center shopping mall. Walmart leases a 144,000-square-foot store in the 750,000-square-foot mall.

The seller, Westrock Development L.L.C. in Yonkers, in 2008 paid $5.4 million for the East Main Street property, where it planned to build Cortlandt Crossing, a mixed-use development with 90,000 square feet of retail and bank space and a 10-lot housing subdivision. The project did not progress in the economic downturn that halted development plans throughout the county.

In March, Westrock and Walmart representatives reportedly surprised Cortlandt town officials when they informally revealed plans for a 160,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter at the Cortlandt Crossing site. The larger store would include a supermarket, which Walmart reportedly is restricted from having at Cortlandt Town Center by its lease agreement with Acadia. That lease reportedly expires in 2018.

Chris Kehoe, deputy director of the Cortlandt planning division, said no plans for the Walmart development have been submitted to the town for approval. The project would require a zoning change for the property, most of which is zoned for residential use, he said.

Jason Friedland, principal of Westrock Development, declined to comment on the deal with Acadia.

Jonathan Grisham, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Acadia Realty Trust, said the company had no development plans to announce “at this time.”

Walmart officials did not return a request for comment at press time.

A real estate investment trust headquartered at 1311 Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains, Acadia in Westchester also owns the 309,500-square-foot Crossroads Shopping Center in Greenburgh and the 229,000-square-foot Pelham Manor Shopping Plaza and manages the 35,000-square-foot Tarrytown Centre.