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People wait to enter Trader Joe's, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in East Liberty. Walnut Capital has acquired the Village of Eastside, a nine-acre shopping center next to Bakery Square that is home to Trader Joe’s, Staples, and other retailers.
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Growth spurt: Walnut Capital acquires shopping center next to Bakery Square

Michael M. Santiago/Post-Gazette

Growth spurt: Walnut Capital acquires shopping center next to Bakery Square

Walnut Capital has made another big acquisition on Penn Avenue in the East End, adding to its collection of holdings near its cutting-edge Bakery Square development.

The Shadyside developer has finalized the purchase of the Village of Eastside, a nine-acre shopping center next to Bakery Square that is home to Trader Joe’s, Staples and other retailers. The price was not disclosed.

Combined with the Club One fitness property Walnut Capital is negotiating to buy, the latest acquisition would give the developer control of about another 12 acres of land adjacent to Bakery Square, home to Google and a number of other tech- or university-related ventures.

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Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital and founding partner, said the company intends to rename the shopping center the District at Bakery Square, making it part of a nexus that includes three office buildings, apartments, retail and townhouses.

Shawn Horwat, a trainer at Club One Fitness in Shadyside, demonstrates how to use the resistance tubing at the club.
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Beyond that, it’s not planning any other immediate changes.

“We’re committed to operating it as a shopping center and working with the tenants,” he said Monday.

Nonetheless, Mr. Reidbord acknowledged the large tract eventually could serve as an opportunity for expansion, whether that could involve more retail, offices or apartments.

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But it’s too early to determine any of that at this point.

“As we all know, nobody can forecast the future of retail. We think it works as retail,” he said. “We will let the market speak to us.”

Walnut Capital saw the acquisition as an “opportunistic buy” more than anything else.

Mr. Reidbord said the company had been talking to the previous owner, East Liberty Station Associates, for some time about a possible purchase. It moved when the property recently became available.

This file photo shows a view of Bakery Square from Penn Ave.
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“We didn’t buy it with any specific plans,” he said.

Walnut Capital also has been negotiating with The Davis Companies of Boston to buy the vacant Club One Fitness property at 6325 Penn Avenue in East LIberty. That real estate is adjacent to the shopping center. It hopes to close on that acquisition soon.

Mr. Reidbord said he’s not sure what Walnut Capital will do with that property, although he sees potential for apartments to supplement the plans Echo Realty has for more than 200 residential units at the Shady Hill Center across the street in Shadyside.

On the other side of Bakery Square, Walnut Capital last fall purchased the Matthews International Building at 6515 Penn with plans to lease it as office space.

That two-story building will add 60,467 square feet and about 100 parking spaces to Bakery Square. Walnut Capital paid $12.4 million for that property.

In the core of Bakery Square, the site of an old Nabisco factory, Walnut Capital is adding updates that include a two-story, 12,400-square-foot retail addition, a conservatory, an expanded public plaza and new breezeway.

On the other side of Penn, in Shadyside, the developer is finishing up Bakery Office Three, a nine-story office building that will house Philips Sleep and Respiratory Care.

Overall, the Bakery Square complex in Larimer and Shadyside features three office buildings, two parking garages, hotel and retail space, 350 apartments and 52 for-sale townhouses.

Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.

First Published: June 1, 2020, 6:04 p.m.

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People wait to enter Trader Joe's, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in East Liberty. Walnut Capital has acquired the Village of Eastside, a nine-acre shopping center next to Bakery Square that is home to Trader Joe’s, Staples, and other retailers.  (Michael M. Santiago/Post-Gazette)
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