ORLANDO—Another Publix-anchored shopping center has traded hands. Alafaya Square, a 175,977-square-foot retail property in the Orlando suburb of Oviedo, FL, has a new owner. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HFF arranged the sale of the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership between Weingarten Realty Investors and an institutional partner. Epic Real Estate Partners purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt.

“Publix anchored centers continue to be the preferred investment in Florida for retail investors,” HFF senior managing director Brad Peterson, who represented the seller along with associate director Whitaker Leonhardt and real estate analysts Michael Brewster and Anthony Frogameni, tells GlobeSt.com. “The demand by investors for these investments still far outpaces the supply of deals available for sale, and as a result we are still continuing to see cap rates decline on these investments in north & central Florida.”

Renovated in 2005, Alafaya Square has main building and two outparcels. Regional and national tenants, including Publix Supermarkets, Planet Fitness and International House of Pancakes, call the shopping center home.

“Alafaya Square is located in one of the faster-growing suburban communities in Orlando, driven by the tremendous growth of the University of Central Florida,” says Peterson. “The property is the largest shopping center in the area and draws a large customer base because of its' great mix of grocery, fitness, dining and service based tenants.

The shopping center spans more than 21 acres at 19 Alafaya Woods Boulevard where it terminates at Alafaya Trail in Oviedo, a community 12 miles from Orlando. Oviedo helps serve more than 60,000 students who attend the University of Central Florida, which is three miles from the center.