First National Buys 360 KSF DC-Area Retail Asset

Waldorf Marketplace. Image courtesy of First National Realty Partners

First National Realty Partners has acquired Waldorf Marketplace, a 359,484-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center in Waldorf, Md. CommercialEdge identifies American Realty Advisors as the previous owner.

According to earlier reports by Globe Street, the former owner picked up the first phase of the shopping center in 2005 and the second one in 2007, for which the firm paid $38.5 million.

A 58,092-square-foot Safeway grocery store anchors Waldorf Marketplace, operating at the property since 2005. A range of national and regional retailers are also present, including Hobby Lobby, Jared, Petco, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, Red Robin, TGI Fridays, Bath & Body Works and Famous Dave’s. There is still some unoccupied space in the shopping center, which presents some upside potential for the buyer.

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Located at 2990-3088 Waldorf Marketplace, the retail center sits in a highly populated retail area, some 28 miles south of Washington, D.C. Waldorf Marketplace is positioned at the junction of Western Parkway and Berry Road.

The Waldorf area accounts for approximately half of Charles County’s population and 60 percent of its businesses. Waldorf Marketplace serves a population of more than 70,000 people residing within a 3-mile radius, with an average household income of $144,000, according to the new owner.

A portfolio rich in grocery-anchored assets

The acquisition of Waldorf Marketplace marks First National Realty’s fourth acquisition in the metro area. Last year, the firm acquired two grocery-anchored shopping centers including the 287,000-square-foot Promenade at Manassas, in Manassas, Va.

The investor has also been active in other markets across the U.S. Earlier this year, the company acquired a 304,935-square-foot retail center in Cullman, Ala., anchored by a Publix Food Store. At the end of last year, First National Realty also purchased a 259,104-square-foot, Target-anchored retail center in West Hartford, Conn.

According to the latest retail market report from JLL, retail tenants occupied nearly 76 million square feet of space in 2022, marking the highest absorption rate since 2017. The report also highlights that grocery-anchored retail centers were among the top-performing retail categories in terms of new store openings last year.