LLD Enterprises buys plaza near Buffalo for $5 million

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Rochester-based LLD Enterprises LLC has purchased a 122,000-square-foot shopping plaza in Tonawanda, Erie County. The commercial real estate developer also is gearing up to build the first grocery store in Walworth, Wayne County.

LLD Enterprises recently bought Sheridan Drive Plaza near Buffalo for some $5 million from Cleveland-based DDR Corp., a real estate investment trust. DDR had purchased the plaza a decade ago from Benderson Development Co.

The plaza is roughly 40 percent occupied, and LLD Enterprises principal David Dworkin said the firm will begin working immediately to fill the vacancies. Other improvements that could be undertaken on the plaza include facade improvements, roof repairs and the installation of energy-efficient lighting.

The plaza’s location near multiple intersections made it a good fit for the company, he said. LLD Enterprises looks to acquire properties that are in need of redevelopment or enlargement.

It is the second retail property the local firm has acquired in the Buffalo area. LLD Enterprises purchased Seneca Ridge, also from DDR, in early 2012.

“This was another opportunity to own an asset in the Buffalo area,” Dworkin said.

When the weather improves, the company will begin construction of a Tops Markets LLC grocery store in Walworth. It will be the first grocery store in the town.

Plans call for a 43,000-square-foot Tops store and gas station at the seven-acre Walworth Plaza on Route 441, Walworth-Penfield Road. Some 6,500 square feet is included for additional retail use.

The goal is to complete the project by the end of November. It is too early to know the cost, but Dworkin estimates construction will cost $5 million.

LDD Enterprises concentrates on retail development but also owns office and industrial-commercial developments. LLD is the real estate brokerage arm of the partnership between Dworkin and John August. Their development company is JADD Management LLC, which uses the partners’ initials.

LLD, JADD and a property management arm employ nine people and have raised occupancy levels of the properties to their highest points, Dworkin said.

The company owns or co-owns property in New York, Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It continues to look for ways to diversify its holdings geographically and in the types of properties developed, but Dworkin said the company has a focus in Upstate New York.

LLD Enterprises has holdings across Monroe and Ontario counties., including the 92-acre shovel-ready Village Square site in Honeoye Falls and the Rochester Button Co. in High Falls, former site of Empire Brewing Co.

The firm purchased the former button factory in 1999 when it was less than 50 percent occupied. Today, the 125,000-square-foot building is nearly full with tenants including LaBella Associates P.C. and ShoreTel Inc., company officials said

Dworkin said the company made numerous improvements to the historic downtown building, including adding new elevators, rehabbing original windows and removing carpeting.

“We really are a service business,” he said. “If you provide value to your tenants, it sets us apart.”

LLD Enterprises was formed in the mid-1990s, but its history goes back to the 1960s. Sheldon Lane, co-founder of Monro Muffler Brake Inc., began the real estate firm as Sheldon A. Lane Associates. After Monro Muffler was sold in the 1980s, Lane and his partner retained the company’s real estate holdings.

LLD Enterprises was formed by Lane’s daughter and son-in-law when Lane died in 1994.

Dworkin’s business partner August worked with Lane at Monro. He oversaw the company’s real estate department, opening hundreds of stores during his 25 years there.

August retired in 1998 and founded J. August Properties Inc., specializing in commercial real estate development. Two years later, he teamed up with Dworkin to form JADD.

Dworkin spends most of his time on leasing and the administrative end of the business and is based at the firm’s office on Park Avenue. August’s focus is on development and property management. He mainly works at the company’s High Falls office.

“It’s a system that seems to work,” Dworkin said.

1/24/14 (c) 2014 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email [email protected].