JLL Buys Open-Air Shopping Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Chicago-based real estate investment trust JLL Income Property Trust recently announced the acquisition of a retail property outside Birmingham, Ala. The shipping center in question reportedly commanded approximately $94 million in the transaction.
Strategically located on the corner of Tuscaloosa’s primary commercial intersection, Midtown Village is one of the most visited retail shopping centers in the state, receiving more than 5.7 million annual visits.
The open-air center is located 1.5 miles from the University of Alabama’s main campus and less than one mile from DCH Regional Medical Center, which is Tuscaloosa’s largest regional hospital.
Totaling approximately 345,000 square feet of Tuscaloosa retail space, Midtown Village is home to a mix of seasoned necessity anchor tenants, as well as complementary apparel, food, and service tenants. The weighted average lease term at the property is more than 16 years.
“Midtown Village offers an attractive enhancement to our retail portfolio,” said Allan Swaringen, president and CEO of JLL Income Property Trust. “The enduring demand of this strong tenant roster supports stable operating performance, and the center is well positioned in a thriving submarket with proven traffic. With retail construction and vacancies declining nationally, we anticipate this continued supply-demand imbalance to drive returns for the sector as a whole.”
JLL Income Property Trust is an institutionally managed, daily net asset value real estate investment trust that owns approximately $7 billion in portfolio equity and debt investments, and whose portfolio of real estate investments continues to grow.
Retail real estate has been a mainstay in the JLL Income Property Trust portfolio since the real estate investment trust’s inception in 2012. With the addition of this Tuscaloosa retail property, grocery-anchored and necessity-driven retail investments comprise 13% of the total $7 billion portfolio. Specifically, the 22 open-air shopping centers in the portfolio account for approximately $900 million in the trust’s assets.