At December 31, 2003, the Company owned or had an interest in 62 community and neighborhood shopping centers comprising approximately 13.5 million square feet, primarily located in densely populated and affluent communities throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. In addition, Federal Realty owned 49 urban and retail mixed-use properties comprising over 2.7 million square feet and one apartment complex, primarily located in strategic metropolitan markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions and California. At December 31, 2003, the Company had approximately 2,200 tenants, ranging from sole proprietors to major national retailers. In total, its properties were 93.1% leased at year end.
In 2003, the Company's single largest development capital need was the completion of Phase I and Phase II of Santana Row, a multi-phase, mixed-use project built on 42 acres in San lose, California in the heart of Silicon Valley. The project consists of residential, retail and hotel components, creating a community with the feel of an urban district. Phase I of the project includes eight buildings which contain approximately 444,000 square feet of retail space, 255 residential units, a 213 room hotel and the supporting infrastructure. The first building, containing 40,000 square feet and leased to Crate & Barrel opened on June 27, 2002. Six of the remaining seven buildings, consisting of approximately 317,000 square feet of retail space, opened on November 7, 2002, The remaining building, Building Seven, contained approximately 87,000 square feet of retail space, approximately 1,000 parking spaces and 246 residential units until a fire on August 19, 2002, prior to its scheduled opening. The fire in August 2002 destroyed all but 11 of the 246 residential units and damaged the retail units and a parking structure resulting in a delay of the opening of the retail units from September 2002 until February 2003.
On February 7, 2003, the Company announced plans for Phase II of Santana Row, which includes approximately 84,000 square feet of retail space on two pad sites and 275 additional parking spaces. The Phase II retail space was opened and operating prior to year-end 2003. The two primary tenants of Phase II, The Container Store and Best Buy, opened in 2003. In November 2003, Federal Realty announced the planned development of 96 townhomes and 160 flats on the Building 7 podium to replace the units that were destroyed in the August 2002 fire. Construction began in late 2003 and the first units are expected to be available in early 2005 with the balance delivered later in that year.
The Company completed several acquisitions for the year ended December 31, 2003. On March 21, 2003, a partnership in which one of the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries is the general partner purchased the 214,000-square-foot South Valley Shopping Center in Alexandria, Virginia. On March 31, 2003, the same partnership acquired the leasehold interest, which extends through December 31, 2077, in the 257,000-square-foot Mount Vernon Plaza in Alexandria, Virginia. On October 14, 2003, the Company acquired the leasehold interest, which extends through September 30, 2028, in the 321,000-square-foot Mercer Mall in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. On October 31, 2003, FR Plaza del Mercado, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, purchased the 96,000-square-foot Plaza del Mercado shopping center located in Silver Spring, Maryland. On December 4, 2003, FR Mercer Mall, LLC, another wholly owned subsidiary of Federal Realty, purchased a 40,000-square-foot out-parcel of Mercer Mall in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
Federal Realty also disposed a number of properties during the year. On June 16, 2003, the Company sold the street retail property located at 4929 Bethesda Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2003, Federal Realty sold three retail properties and one undeveloped parcel of land. The properties sold were Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts (13,000 retail square feet), Tanasbourne in Washington County, Oregon (undeveloped land), 4925 Bethesda Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland (3,400 square feet) and 2106 Central Avenue in Evanston, Illinois (19,000 square feet). On October 31, 2003, the Company sold a 15,000 square foot street retail asset located at 234 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. On December 18, 2003, Federal Realty sold four street retail properties, totaling 62,000 square feet, located in West Hartford, Connecticut.