Wawa, Applebee’s, and zombie Rite Aid part of $14.8 million real estate deal near Fishtown
A suburban Cleveland-based firm purchased five stores along Aramingo Avenue. The former pharmacy will become a Chick-fil-A.
A real estate firm has purchased five commercial properties in Port Richmond for nearly $14.8 million.
Curbline Properties, which is based in suburban Cleveland, bought the Aramingo Avenue stores in late March. They include a Wawa, a Dunkin’, an Applebee’s, and a former Rite Aid that is set to turn into a Chick-fil-A, according to public records and a site plan on the company’s website.
The shopping center sits just north of Fishtown, straddling the Kensington and Port Richmond neighborhoods, near the I-95 ramp.
The most expensive purchase of the bunch was the former Rite Aid, which has sat vacant at 2545 Aramingo Ave. since it closed in December 2023, amid the pharmacy chain’s first bankruptcy.
Curbline paid $4 million for the approximately 14,000-square-foot building, with plans to replace it with a Chick-fil-A less than half the size, according to Curbline’s site plan.
It is just one example of how the region’s dozens of “zombie Rite Aids” can be resurrected. More shuttered pharmacies are set to hit the market soon as the Navy Yard-based company begins closing all stores.
It was unclear when the Chick-fil-A would move in. The company already has a location off Aramingo Avenue in Port Richmond, but closer to Bridesburg.
Next door, Curbline paid $3 million for the ”super" Wawa with gas at 2535 Aramingo, according to property records. Across the street, it spent nearly $3.2 million for a site that contains a Dunkin’, a Cold Stone Creamery, and a Pizza Hut.
The company also paid $2.3 million apiece for an AutoZone and an Applebee’s on the same block, according to the records.
All existing tenants are set to remain, according to Curbline’s online site plan.
The properties were previously owned by a limited liability partnership that is associated with the Rodin Group, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
As of earlier this week, the Philly acquisition was Curbline’s third most expensive investment in “convenience shopping centers” nationwide, according to a statement from the company. Through May 31, it had spent more than $182 million on such properties this year.
Curbline also owns three properties in the Echelon Village Plaza in Voorhees, including a Dunkin’ and a Citizens Bank.