Jarnell Bonds
Festival at Riva Shopping Center in Annapolis, Maryland hosted a Grand Re-opening Celebration on Saturday, September 17, to commemorate the completion of the center’s $13 million renovations. Attendees included members of the renovation project team, City of Annapolis officials, members of The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, Festival at Riva Merchants and members of the local media. Nearly 500 consumers participated in the family friendly entertainment portion of the event which included merchant promotions.
The event was kicked off with a ribbon cutting ceremony and comments from Bob Burdon, President of The Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, followed by Henry Fonvielle, President at Rappaport, leasing and management agent for Festival at Riva. The ceremony was concluded by Jay Matthes, Head of National Retail Asset Management Group at American Realty Advisors, the institutional investment advisor who owns the shopping center on behalf of its investors.
“We invest all over the country and chose Festival at Riva because it is well utilized by the community, said Matthes. “We also felt there was tremendous underlying opportunity here. We added a lot of touches and finishes to modernize the property to continue to serve the Annapolis area for years to come.”
Festival at Riva was originally built in the 1980s then acquired by American Realty Advisors in 2010.
“We’re so proud of the investment American Realty Advisors has made in this community,” said Fonvielle. “This has always been an attractive center and the new improvements make the center a more important part of the community.” Rappaport provided construction management services for the renovation. Other members of the project team include Rand, General Contractor, P+R Architects, Andy Trachman, construction consultant. Local businesses such as Gablesigns and Level Green landscaping were also key members of the renovation project.
The renovations include updated facades with modern louvre features. New features include two LED Reader Boards at the entrance to the shopping center as well as LED lights around the facade. The project also included refreshed signage and introduces new community gathering spaces with the addition of common seating areas.
“We’re very pleased with the results and proud that we achieved this through a collaborative effort involving many stakeholders. We took a vital, existing commercial property and repositioned it for several more years of viable use,” said Valdis Ronis, Project Manager at P+R Architects. “We gave Festival at Riva a fresh, exciting new look, improved the pedestrian experience with new walkways and pocket parks, improved vehicular circulation, and strengthened the property’s connection to the surrounding community.”
Festival at Riva is a 300,963 SF community center located in the heart of the Annapolis retail market at the corner of Forest Drive and Riva Road. The center has an excellent tenant mix with Giant Food, Five Below, T.J. Maxx, Party City, Buffalo Wild Wings and Michaels. For more information, visit http://www.festivalatriva.com.
###
ABOUT AMERICAN REALTY ADVISORS
With over $7.5 billion in assets under management, American Realty Advisors is a leading provider of commercial real estate investment management services. For over 28 years, American has managed capital for institutional investors utilizing core and value-added commingled funds and separate accounts. American acquires assets directly or provides equity, preferred equity, mezzanine debt, debt, and hybrid debt to primary investors and developers operating throughout the United States for office, industrial, multi-family, and retail properties. More information regarding American can be found at http://www.americanreal.com.
ABOUT RAPPAPORT
For more than 30 years Rappaport has provided retail leasing, tenant representation, property management, asset management, construction management, development, marketing, consulting and receivership services for retail space in shopping centers and mixed-use properties throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Rappaport’s portfolio includes retail space in urban and suburban locations owned by Rappaport, affiliates and many local and institutional clients. For more information, visit https://rappaport.wpengine.com
ABOUT P+R ARCHITECTS
(http://www.prarchitects.com) is an award-winning leader in the retail design and retail architecture industry. With over 37 years of experience designing the retail realm, our depth and excellence in all aspects of retail allow us to take a holistic approach when designing the retail experience. P+R Architects is dedicated to making everyday places extraordinary and celebrating the retail realm as one of the focal points of human interaction. P+R Architects is at the forefront of the new era of retail, examining changing trends and drawing upon our history to be a true retail thought leader.
