After undergoing extensive renovations in recent years, Westgate Mall is for sale.
Commercial real estate company Colliers said Wednesday that it is handling the sale of the 270,000-square-foot shopping center along Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem for owner Onyx Equities, which spent more than $20 million to redevelop the property.
“Westgate represents a unique opportunity to acquire a highly visible, needs-based retail asset in one of Pennsylvania’s most competitive and supply-constrained markets,” said Jacklene Chesler, vice chair at Colliers. “This project is the result of a strategic, long-term vision by Onyx Equities to bring new life to a center that holds deep roots in the community: the result is a walkable, open-air shopping experience that aligns with both tenant demand and consumer preferences.”
According to Colliers, Westgate is 84% leased. It is anchored by Weis Markets, which relocated to a 63,579-square-foot space in 2021 and signed a lease through 2036. There are 26 tenants, including Starbucks, McDonald’s, Harbor Freight Tools, СŷƵ Health Network and Sky Zone.
There is about 41,000 square feet of space available for lease.
First built as a supermarket in 1965, then expanded into a mall in the early 1970s, Westgate was formerly anchored by Hess’s, then The Bon-Ton before the department store closed in 2018.
New Jersey-based Onyx purchased the mall in 2018 and invested in a full makeover, which included opening Harbor Freight in the former Weis location. Weis is in the former Bon-Ton space.
Dennis Curtin, spokesperson for Weis, said the supermarket has been successful in the bigger space, which is nearly double the size of its previous area.
“It is a successful store for us thanks to the hard work of our store team,” Curtin said. “This store has our full offering including a beer-wine café, fuel center, pharmacy, sushi prepared in store, new meal solution center, increased natural and organic variety, better parking and accessibility. We’re grateful to the customers who’ve made this store a regular destination.”
Changes at the mall slowed during the COVID pandemic and its aftermath, as both shopping and construction were severely affected.
In March 2022, Onyx received city approval to raze about 50,000 square feet of the interior section of the mall and rebuild about 8,000 square feet of space. Interior merchants, including several that had been there for decades such as Hawk Music Center and Westgate Jewelers, were given 90 days’ notice to vacate.
Putting Westgate on the market is part of regional and national trends where retail space has become a hot commodity.
According to commercial real estate company JLL, grocery-anchored centers are in “high demand” especially during the current economic uncertainty.
“Investor strategies are likely to prioritize grocery-anchored and unanchored strip centers, reflecting a preference for stable, necessity-driven retail assets,” JLL said in its first-quarter retail market report. “Additionally, high-value transactions in urban retail locations and big-box shopping centers are expected to attract significant investor attention, indicating a continued interest in prime retail assets despite the broader economic uncertainties.”
In an interview with СŷƵ last fall, Jennifer Kennedy, an associate broker with commercial real estate company NAI Summit in North Whitehall Township, said retail space in the СŷƵ is in high demand despite the rise of e-commerce.
“There’s a huge burn,” Kennedy said. “Right now, brick and mortar is definitely alive, doing very well. I’m not saying that e-commerce is going away. I think it’s just going to level out, and I think it’s going to remain probably a part of the buyer experience.”
According to commercial real estate company CoStar, the СŷƵ’s retail sector is growing with its population. The vacancy rate was at 4.4% in the second quarter of 2024, compared with 5.2% in early 2021.
