CBRE has brokered the sale of Water Tower Square, a 269,018-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania. The open-air retail property is located in what CBRE describes as a dominant retail corridor within the broader Philadelphia metropolitan area.
The shopping center was acquired by ECHO Realty and TPG, which formed a new joint venture to complete the transaction. The deal represents the venture’s first acquisition, signaling a strategic entry into the grocery-anchored retail segment for the partners. The seller, The Goldenberg Group, was represented in the sale by CBRE’s National Retail Partners team.
CBRE’s sales team on the assignment consisted of Chris Munley, Colin Behr, Ryan Sciullo, and Casey Smith. The brokers marketed Water Tower Square as an institutional-quality asset, emphasizing the stability of its tenant base and positioning within the Philadelphia MSA. According to commentary from the team, investors were drawn to the center’s combination of scale, anchors, and location within an established trade area.
Water Tower Square is anchored by The Home Depot, which CBRE characterized as a ‘unicorn’ tenant for the project, underscoring the rarity and perceived strength of that anchor in the current retail landscape. The property is also anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, adding a grocery component that is often viewed favorably by both lenders and equity investors for its traffic-driving qualities.
In addition to its anchor tenants, the center includes a mix of national and regional retailers that broaden its appeal to shoppers. Reported occupants include Planet Fitness, Flagship Cinemas, Bob’s Discount Furniture, World Market, and Miller’s Ale House. This lineup supports a blend of daily-needs, entertainment, and discretionary spending that can help diversify income streams for ownership.
CBRE noted that the transaction highlights ongoing demand from institutional capital for high-quality, grocery-anchored retail centers in established metropolitan corridors. With ECHO Realty and TPG selecting Water Tower Square as the inaugural investment for their new joint venture, the deal underscores investor focus on scale, credit tenancy, and well-located assets within major MSAs.
Specific pricing and financing details for the sale were not disclosed, but the parties involved positioned the transaction as a vote of confidence in both the property and the broader Philadelphia-region retail market. For the new joint venture, Water Tower Square provides an immediate footprint anchored by nationally recognized brands and a diverse roster of complementary tenants.
