LAKE GROVE, NY-Regency Shopping Centers has made its first crossing of the Hudson River to the west and Long Island Sound to the north with its $72.5-million acquisition of Lake Grove Commons. The Jacksonville, FL-based retail owner/developer paid approximately $513 per square foot for the 141,382-square-foot community shopping center in partnership with First Washington Realty Inc.

Located near the 1.2-million-square-foot Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove Commons includes the only Whole Foods Market in Suffolk County, along with L.A. Fitness, Petco. Scott Porter, senior manager of acquisitions at Regency, tells GlobeSt.com the company is “looking to deploy additional capital in the market and is activity seeking market opportunities.” The deal marks Regency’s first in New York State generally and Long Island in particular.

On the New Jersey side of the New York metropolitan area, Regency owns the 103,891-square-foot Plaza Square anchored by ShopRite in the Passaic County township of Wayne, NJ. Its only other Northeast holdings aside from the newly acquired Lake Grove Commons include grocery-anchored retail centers in the Boston suburbs and West Hartford, CT. Including Lake Grove Commons, Regency has acquired five shopping centers within the past 12 months, according to a release.

Regency had sought to make a move into Long Island for about the past 12 months, says Porter.  The county-wide exclusivity of the Lake Grove Whole Foods was a plus, but was not the key consideration in Regency’s decision to buy the fully-occupied property, he says. However, Porter adds, “The market-dominant anchors like Whole Foods Market was a factor. Other deciding factors included the in-fill location, attractive tenant line-up, affluent customer base and traffic draw from proximity to Smith Haven Mall.” The release from Regency states that Lake Grove Commons draws upon a population of 228,000 within a five-mile radius; average household income is $114,000.

Lake Grove Commons was originally built in 1996 and renovated in 2010, according to industry data. The seller, Lake Grove Enterprises, an affiliate of Blumenfeld Development Group, was represented by CBRE’s Jeffrey Dunne and David Gavin.