Phillips Edison Adds 600 KSF to Its REITs

By Barbra Murray

Sierra Del Oro Towne Centre in Corona, Calif.

Phillips Edison & Co. has been on quite a shopping spree over the last few months. Acting on behalf of its two managed non-traded REITs, Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT I and Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II, the shopping center developer and operator recently wrapped up a series of deals resulting in the acquisition of six grocery-anchored retail properties accounting for an aggregate 600,000 square feet.

“Our highly experienced team of acquisitions professionals has been very busy this summer sourcing and closing high-quality grocery-anchored shopping properties. These recent acquisitions continue to support our strategy to diversify by geography, grocery anchor, and tenant type and industry,” David Wik, senior vice president of acquisitions with Phillips Edison & Co., said in a prepared statement.

Phillips Edison picked up two assets in Southern California, the 92,200-square-foot Riverlakes Village in Bakersfield, and the 110,000-square-foot Sierra del Oro Towne Center in Corona. In Florida, the company snapped up St. John’s Plaza in Titusville and Ormond Beach Mall in Ormond Beach, adding 117,500 square feet and 94,300 square feet, respectively, to the portfolio.

The buying binge also resulted in the addition of Golden Park Village, a 68,300-square-foot asset in Buford, Ga., outside Atlanta, and the 114,500-squae-foot Frankfort Crossing Shopping Center in Frankfort, Ill., near Chicago. Tenants holding the grocery spot at the properties include Publix, Ralph’s, Vons and Jewel-Osco.

Good times for the grocery-anchored

The grocery-anchored property type, buoyed by traffic generated by supermarkets, has long had a reputation as a safer place to invest capital in the retail sector. It appears the reputation will hold.

“As the retail sector continues to evolve, with large tenant shake-ups and e-commerce pressures, investors are focusing on anchored retail centers, particularly those with grocery tenants, as one positive path for future growth,” according to a May 2017 sentiment report by global commercial real estate marketplace Real Capital Markets.

Image courtesy of Hanley Investment Group