DLC JV to Pay $625M for West Coast Retail Portfolio

October 20, 2025

Retail Investment News Seattle More West

Merlone Geier is selling the 10 grocery-anchored centers.

Aerial view of the Jewel Osco store and part of the parking area at Danada Square West in Wheaton, Ill. — DLC acquired Danada Square West in early January 2025. *Image courtesy of DLC*

DLC, in a joint venture with DRA Advisors, is preparing to acquire a 10-asset, $625 million grocery-anchored shopping center portfolio in California and Seattle.

Merlone Geier is the seller of the property collection. The company has been investing in West Coast retail assets since 1993 and has purchased 176 retail properties totaling more than 27.6 million square feet. The firm also handles its own leasing, property management, and construction management.

The deal represents a strategic expansion on the West Coast for DLC, which is also planning to open a new regional office to oversee further growth in the Pacific and Mountain West regions.

The transaction also marks the 12th deal that DLC has closed since 2023 with its co-general partner, Temerity Strategic Partners, an investor that has committed growth capital to help DLC expand its assets by $2 billion by 2026.

DLC has more than $3 billion in assets under management, encompassing approximately 21 million square feet. The company currently owns more than 80 retail centers, with the heaviest concentration along the Eastern Seaboard, including Florida. Other significant holdings are in the Midwest and Southern states, with a smaller number of assets on the West Coast.

In January, DLC obtained $41.7 million in acquisition financing from Webster Bank for Danada Square West, a 314,819-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Wheaton, Ill. Earlier that month, the firm purchased the asset from PGIM Real Estate for $61.7 million, in a joint venture with Crow Holdings Capital and Temerity Strategic Partners.

Investors want grocery-anchored retail

Grocery-anchored retail is in line with current retail market trends and doing well by a variety of measures, including rent growth and foot traffic, something that investors have taken note. But there isn’t enough for-sale inventory to go around, as overall retail supply is expanding slowly.

Some 8.3 million square feet of retail space were delivered nationwide last year, and it is estimated that about 10.6 million square feet under development would be completed by the end of 2025, a Cushman & Wakefield report shows.

Demand for space has contracted since 2021, but not as much as supply growth. More than 13.1 million square feet of retail was absorbed in the first three quarters this year, but only 7.9 million square feet was delivered.