First National Acquires Metro Atlanta Shopping Centers

Village Shoppes of East Cherokee in Woodstock, Ga. Image courtesy of First National Realty Partners

First National Realty Partners has expanded its portfolio of shopping centers in the Atlanta area with the acquisition of Village Shoppes of East Cherokee in Woodstock, Ga., and Cherokee Commons in Acworth, Ga.

According to CommercialEdge data, the seller of both retail centers was Bandera Ventures, represented in the transactions by CBRE’s Matt Karempelis.

Bandera Ventures acquired the Village Shoppes of East Cherokee property for $19.8 million in August 2021, and Cherokee Commons for $11.3 million in April 2021, according to the same source.

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Cherokee Commons. Image courtesy of First National Realty Partners

The 123,783-square-foot Village Shoppes of East Cherokee is anchored by supermarket chain Publix, which occupies 44,840 square feet. Publix has been a tenant since 2003 and has since been joined by other retailers including Dollar Tree, Workout Anytime, Huntington Learning Center and Subway. Located at 6234 Holly Springs Parkway in Woodstock, Ga., the shopping center has five available suites.

Seven miles away, the 103,835-square-foot Cherokee Commons is anchored by supermarket and department store chain Kroger, under a 66,918-square-foot lease. Kroger has been a tenant at the shopping center since 1986 and has expanded its footprint at Cherokee Commons several times during its more than 30 years of tenancy. The shopping center is located at 6199 Highway 92 in Acworth, Ga. Its other tenants include Pet Supplies Plus, CosmoProf, Fit Body Boot Camp and Jackson Hewitt, and has three available spaces.

Coast-to-coast shopping centers

For First National, these two shopping center acquisitions bolster the firm’s retail presence in metro Atlanta. First National is looking to continue growing its portfolio of open-air retail properties, focusing on grocery-anchored shopping centers across primary and secondary U.S. markets with strong demographics.

First National’s portfolio of retail properties stretches from Suisun City, Calif., to Plaistow, N.H. Earlier this year, First National acquired a 359,484-square-foot retail center in Waldorf, Md., which is anchored by Safeway. In December, the firm also expanded its presence in Alabama with the acquisition of the 304,935-square-foot Cullman Shopping Center, which is anchored by a 45,600-square-foot Publix Food Store.