ATLANTA-TNP Strategic Retail Trust closed out 2011 with 11 acquisitions. The public, non-traded REIT’s grand finale was the Summit Point Shopping Center in Fayetteville. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Summit Point Shopping Center is a neighborhood, grocery-anchored shopping center. Built in 2004, Publix anchors the center. The asset is nearly 88% occupied by a balanced mix of national and regional tenants, including Verizon Wireless, Subway, Wendy’s, Chase, Fantastic Sams and Curves, among others.

“Fayette County continues to be a prime growth area of South Atlanta with an expected population growth of more than 13% in a three-mile radius within the next five years, according to Jones Lang LaSalle,” Steve Corea, Thompson National Properties' senior vice president, acquisitions, said in a statement. Summit Point Shopping Center is a high-end bedroom community within metro Atlanta, 20 miles south of downtown.

JLL was hired to market the asset in June 2011. The property includes two buildings totaling 104,572 rentable square feet. There are two additional ground-leased outparcels and one 5,000-square-foot land parcel that may be ground leased or sold in the future.

Atlanta’s retail sector is making a recovery, thanks in part to a stellar holiday shopping season. According to JLL, retailers, landlords and investors are capitalizing on pent-up consumer demand and shopping centers remain a top investment category. However, JLL’s North America year-end Retail Outlook predicts the sector will most likely remain in a holding pattern for at least the next three quarters.

“Everyone, including consumers, is in a continued wait-and-see mode, delaying major buying and investment decisions until they see how several dynamics play out, including the elections next year,” Greg Maloney, CEO and president of JLL Retail, said in a statement. “Until we have some market certainty in the US and overseas, plus sustained high levels of consumer confidence driven by higher paychecks, a stronger stock market and an improved housing market, a robust recovery will elude the retail sector.”