REIT Adds 450,000 SF in Shopping Center Buy

According to Cedar vice president Brenda Walker, the $34.5-million deal includes the Port Richmond Village and Academy Plaza shopping centers in Philadelphia and Washington Center, located in Washington Twp., NJ. FameCo Real Estate, Conshohocken, PA represented the undisclosed seller.

The three properties represent a significant step toward the company's stated goal of compiling a portfolio of retail properties, preferably located in the Northeast. "We have been selling old properties to create a focus upon shopping centers in the Mid Atlantic states," Walker tells GlobeSt.com. Walker says the REIT "is in discussions on several acquisitions," but she would not reveal details.

All three centers are supermarket-anchored and each is roughly 150,000 sf. The lead tenant at Academy Plaza and Washington Center is Acme Markets, an Albertson's subsidiary. Port Richmond Village's anchor tenant is Academy supermarket, a Fleming Cos. subsidiary.

In addition to the three new acquisitions, Cedar owns a 50% interest in The Point Shopping Center, a 260,000-sf. facility in Harrisburg, PA purchased in July for approximately $2.1 million and a 79,000-sf flex property in Jacksonville, FL, Southpoint Parkway Center. The Jacksonville property, which is currently on the block, is situated on 11.7 acres at 6800 Southpoint Parkway. It is the last property in Cedar's portfolio purchased before Cedar Bay Co. acquired an 84% stake in the REIT three years ago.

Proceeds for the latest purchase reportedly came largely from the $5.3-million sale of the Broadbent Business Center in Salt Lake City, a 120,000-sf office/warehouse complex. The REIT also recently sold Corporate Center East, a 25,000-sf office building in Bloomington, IL. The transaction closed in June for a reported $1.86 million. Germantown Square, a 74, 267-sf Cedar-owned retail property located in Germantown, KY was sold to Life Investors in May for $3 million.