Doris Italian Market Inks New 22,300 Lease

CREC has secured a 22,300-square-foot retail lease with specialty grocer Doris Italian Market & Bakery at Shoppes at City Centre in North Palm Beach.

The transaction demonstrates the strength of The Shoppes at City Centre and CREC’s ability to quickly backfill a vacant retail box space with a marquee brand that will enhance the center’s tenant mix. Centrally located at the southwest quadrant of PGA Boulevard and US 1, the renovated shopping complex is comprised of 110,000 square feet.

CREC’s Steven Henenfeld, Co-Director of Leasing, and Ariel Bernstein, Leasing Associate, completed the transaction on behalf of the shopping center’s ownership. This will become Doris Italian Market’s sixth store in South Florida.

“The new Doris Italian Market & Bakery at the Shoppes at City Centre will be the chain’s largest location and serve as a daily traffic generator for the entire center. Since Doris signed as an anchor supermarket, we have already started to see an increase in leasing velocity and upswing in rental rates,” said CREC’s Henenfeld, who leads leasing efforts at the retail property. “The retailer will also add tremendous value to the area’s residents, offering a full-service specialty market to meet their grocery needs.”

Doris Italian Market is taking over one of the center’s anchor retail spaces, which was previously occupied by a Winn-Dixie supermarket. When Winn-Dixie closed its location during the economic downturn the big-box space was split. One is currently occupied by a 25,000-square-foot West Marine flagship store and Doris Italian Market & Bakery will occupy 22,300 square feet.

The locally-owned chain has served generations of families in South Florida since 1947, becoming a premier specialty supermarket with a full bakery and deli, seafood and produce departments. The market’s other locations are spread throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties in Pembroke Pines, Sunrise, Boca Raton, Hollywood and Coral Springs.

CREC began exclusively representing the shopping complex, which is also home to a Carrabba’s Italian Grill, over a year ago. In this span, the CREC team has also secured the following new tenants: Zoo Fitness, Allstate Insurance and Vagabond Boutique. Contributing to the area’s strong customer base is the adjacently located City Centre office complex, a prestigious business address that is home to financial firms such as Oppenheimer & Co., Morgan Stanley and Northern Trust.