Inland American Makes Quartet of Acquisitions for $154M

February 10, 2010
By Allison Landa, News Editor

Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons user billjacobus1

Oak Brook, Ill.-based REIT Inland American continues to add to its diversified portfolio. The company on Wednesday announced that it recently completed the purchase of four properties totaling approximately $154 million.

Inland American’s new properties – two shopping centers totaling 397,268 square feet and two multifamily properties totaling 1,034 units — closed in December and January.

The shopping centers include the 159,703 square-foot Woodlake Crossing Shopping Center in San Antonio, Tex., whose tenants include Best Buy, Ross Dress for Less, PetCo, and Office Max. The center was built in 2009 and is 81 percent occupied.

The other shopping center is the 237,565-square-foot Grafton Commons Shopping Center in Grafton, Wisc. Anchored by grocery store ALDI, the property’s other tenants include Kohl’s, Best Buy and PetSmart. Developer Continental Properties sold the center to Inland American.

The apartment complexes include the 356-unit Malibu Lakes Apartments in Naples, Fla. Situated in 20 two- and three-story buildings, the complex’s amenities include a clubhouse, two heated swimming pools, attached garages, a walking/running path, tennis courts and cabanas. The apartments had gone into foreclosure before Inland purchased them from Malibu Lakes 356 LLC for $31 million prior to a courthouse auction. Malibu Lakes paid $83 million for the complex in 2005 and had been planning to convert the units to condominiums.

The other apartment complex is the 678-unit Archstone Medical Center Apartments in Houston, located next to the Texas Medical Center. The complex includes a 24-hour fitness center, gated entrance, two swimming pools, and a wading pool.

All four transactions were completed on behalf of Inland American by its purchasing arm Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, Inc..

“The shopping centers are well-located with strong, necessity-based retailers, which is exactly what we look for when purchasing retail properties,” vice chairman of The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies Joe Cosenza said in a statement. “Malibu Lakes and Archstone Medical Center Apartments are both in strong locations and offer resort-style amenities. We continue to see excellent buying opportunities across a multitude of asset classes.”

In 2009, the company’s acquisitions totaled $1 billion. The purchases included 10 retail properties encompassing 3.3 million square feet as well as three multifamily properties with 2,761 total units. As of Sept. 30, 2009, Inland American owned, directly or indirectly through joint ventures, 946 properties totaling approximately 43 million square feet of retail, industrial, and office properties, 8,544 multifamily units, and 15,125 lodging rooms.