Wheeler REIT Buys Norfolk Shopping Center For $86M

A Wheeler REIT holding

NORFOLK, VA–Wheeler REIT has acquired a 887,917-square foot shopping center for $85.65 million, or $96 per leasable square foot. This purchase of JANAF Shopping Yard includes the assumption of $58.4 million of mortgage loans.

JANAF, which is located some 9 miles from the Wheeler corporate office in Virginia Beach, was 94% occupied as of September 2017, and anchored by BJ’s Wholesale Club and Fuel Center, T.J. Maxx, Petco and Big Lots. JANAF is sited on 92 acres across multiple buildings and includes 37,234 square feet of office space in one building. Originally built in 1959, JANAF has undergone several renovations, the last being in 2006. It is an ambitious acquisition for the REIT, which typically acquires smaller grocery-anchored shopping centers. CEO Jon Wheeler says in a prepared statement that the acquisition is a long-term play as “we believe there is tremendous value in the underlying real estate.”