Cosenza: “Where I have a nice grocery anchor, I've also got some junior box space and a restaurant component. So we're driving traffic to the center morning, noon and night.”

OAK BROOK, IL—“We call it the smile,” says Mark Cosenza. “It's the track between the two coasts that includes markets like North Carolina, Florida, Texas and Colorado, forming a sort of smile.”

It also marks the spots that are attractive to millennials, meaning a surge of multifamily and retail opportunities for Inland Acquisition Group, says Cosenza, who is SVP. “Millennials are flocking to these states for jobs as well as for lifestyle,” he explains. “In and around Denver, for instance, the tech industry is fueling jobs. In Northern Colorado, it's the energy industry, and in Southern Colorado it's the military bases. You have a whole range of job drivers there.” And the scenario continues in Florida and Texas, providing rich opportunities for Inland's various investment funds.

“We are always buying for multiple funds,” says Cosenza, “Our favorite retail centers are grocery-anchored shopping centers.” Target markets include not only the above-mentioned smile markets, but “primary and affluent secondary markets nationwide.” This, of course, is in addition to our funds we buy apartments for, giving Inland a leg up on both the exploding housing and retail sectors.

Exploding indeed. Since the beginning of 2015, Inland has scored $2.8 billion in deals for a total of 115. Thirty-four were shopping centers, 39 were single-tenant retail, 27 were apartment complexes and three were student housing. (For the record, 10 were medical office and two were industrial.)

One recent acquisition, this one on the East Coast, underscores Inland's focus on quality retail. In late April, Cosenza closed on the 311,000-square-foot Coastal North Town Center in North Myrtle Beach, SC after a two-year courtship.

“I first saw that deal at RECon in Vegas in 2014,” Cosenza recalls. “But it wasn't fully ready baked and it fell apart. They came to me again in 2015 in Las Vegas and I re-underwrote it, made an offer and it still wasn't ready.” A quick flirtation with another JV partner fell through, and the developers came back to Inland, delivering a center that's right in the acquirer's sweet spot.

“It's a Publix-anchored center with a very goodHobby Lobby in the region,” says the SVP. “We also have a Dick's Sporting Goods, a TJ Maxx, a PetSmart and an Ulta in the mix.” Restaurant chains on site include Chipotle and Bojangles, rounding out the “retail experience.”

While the main focus for Inland is grocery-anchored centers, Cosenza reports that the firm has had “a lot of success with” what he describes as hybrid grocery-anchored power-lifestyle centers. “So where I have a nice grocery anchor, I've also got some junior box space and a restaurant component. So we're driving traffic to the center morning, noon and night.”

And that, for Cosenza is the Holy Grail: “It's all about foot traffic,” he says.

It's enough to make a person smile.

And that, for Cosenza is the Holy Grail: “It's all about foot traffic,” he says.

It's enough to make a person smile.

Instant Insights /

Inland: When It Comes to Retail Acquisition, Don't Forget to Smile

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