$21M Houston Sale Marks Weingarten Realty’s Exit from Industrial Sector

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

In a move to reinforce its position as a shopping center owner, manager and developer, Weingarten Realty Investors has closed on the sale of its interest in three industrial joint ventures to Exeter Property Group’s Fund II.

The move is consistent with Weingarten Realty’s previous announcement concerning its decision to sell the company’s industrial division. “The completion of this portfolio sale marks our exit from the industrial business and positions Weingarten as a pure-play retail REIT. We will continue our commitment (to) building shareholder value through the repositioning of the retail portfolio into core markets with high barriers to entry and strong growth potential,” stated president & CEO Drew Alexander.

The ventures include a total of nine properties, aggregating approximately 2.6 million square feet of building area, all of it in Houston. The sale price totaled $21.1 million, including $7.8 million of secured debt that Exeter assumed as part of the transaction.

Houston-based Weingarten Realty made public its intent of selling off its entire industrial portfolio back in April, when the company sold almost all of its industrial assets to DRA Advisors in a $382 million deal; 52 industrial properties spread out through Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Virginia and Georgia traded hands at the time, with the remainder to be sold in the most recent transaction.

The company also sold two non-core retail assets in October, including Burbank Station, located in a suburb of Chicago, and Johnston Road Plaza in Charlotte, N.C. Including the recent sale, Weingarten’s dispositions have totaled $631 million this year.