Kimco Goes Solo with 4-Property Portfolio
The company shelled out almost $171 million for the 85 percent joint venture stake.
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor
Perimeter Expo, Atlanta
New Hyde Park, N.Y.—Kimco Realty Corp. has gone from minority partner to sole owner of a 722,500-square-foot portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers with the acquisition of the remaining 85 percent joint venture stake in the four-property collection. The REIT wanted the open-air retail destinations all to itself, and shelled out $170.7 million for the privilege.
The transaction included the assumption of $103 million in mortgage debt, and concurrent with the portfolio purchase, Kimco prepaid $26 million in mortgage debt on the properties.
It’s a well-located assemblage that includes the 175,800-square-foot Perimeter Expo in Atlanta; the 166,500-square-foot Cranberry Commons in Pittsburgh; Cypress Towne Center, which offers 279,200 square feet in Houston; and Doc Stone Commons, a 101,000-square-foot suburban Washington, D.C., property in Stafford, Va.
The opportunity to take on full ownership of the shopping centers didn’t just present itself; Kimco pursued it. “As part of its portfolio simplification strategy initiated in 2013, Kimco has been actively reducing its joint venture exposure by streamlining property ownership and adding high-quality retail assets to its wholly owned portfolio,” David Bujnicki, senior vice president of investor relations and strategy with Kimco, told Commercial Property Executive.
Kimco’s strategy, or the 2020 Vision plan, also prompted the company’s recent non-joint venture acquisition of the 251,000-square-foot Kentlands Market Square just outside Washington, in Gaithersburg, Md., for $95 million.
By the close of the second quarter the REIT had decreased its joint venture site count by 72 percent since 2010.
In addition to adding the right properties, Kimco’s strategic plan involves letting go of the wrong properties—or those that don’t dovetail with the company’s goal. In April, the shopping center REIT sold its interests in a 1.8 million-square-foot, 17-center Canadian portfolio to Anthem Properties Group Ltd. in a $324 million deal.
Buy or sell, Kimco continues to hold the distinction of being the largest publicly traded owner and operator of open-air shopping centers in North America.
Image courtesy of Kimco Realty Corp.
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