CHARLOTTE, NC—Phillips Edison – ARC Shopping Center REIT is staying true to its strategy in early 2012 new moves to acquire more retail centers. There’s joint venture dealings and new buys to report from the Cincinnati-based firm.

Frist, the REIT wrapped up the seeding of the recently announced PECO-ARC Institutional Joint Venture I by putting ownership interest of Burwood Village Center to the JV. It was the last of Phillips Edison’s seven properties to make its way into the JV. Separately, the JV also acquired Cureton Town Center. The two transactions are worth $30.9 million.

The Cureton Town Center is a 74,557-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Waxhaw, NC. The price was $13.9 million. Harris Teeter anchors the shopping center on a long-term lease through March 2027. Fifth Third Bank, SunTrust Bank, Great Clips, Papa John’s, and Moe’s Southwest Grill are also tenants. The shopping center is 91.9% occupied.

“Cureton Town Center drives right down the fairway that we’ve been looking to acquire under,” John Bessey, president of Phillips Edison, tells GlobeSt.com. “It is in a growth market with a leading grocer doing good strong consistent sales. It was a distressed seller. We bought it as an REO from a bank with favorable pricing.”

Cureton Town Center is about 12 miles south of Charlotte. The area around the shopping center has seen about 10% growth over the past 10 years and is projected to continue at approximately 6.5% over the next five years. Average household income levels are above $100,000 within a five-mile radius of the property, according to the JV’s research.

Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Phillips Edison and its partners will contribute approximately $109 million of equity capital. Phillips Edison will contribute approximately $59 million and its partners will contribute $50 million.

The JV plans to leverage this capital with 50% debt financing to reach an approximate $218 million in acquisition capacity in order to purchase well-located grocery-anchored shopping centers. Phillips Edison maintains a majority interest in the JV and serves as the general partner and managing the operations.

“Our acquisition guys are searching nationally for that strong grocery anchored center in strong areas of the country,” Bessey says. “We are looking at the listed channels as well as the off-market channels. About 20% of our deals are through off-market channels.”

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