400-Plus Investors Looked at This Retail Asset

MIAMI—LNR Properties just sold the Shoppes at Jupiter in Jupiter, FL. South Florida-based Orion Venture XI Jupiter LLC acquired the 196,941-square-foot retail property for $27.8 million.

John F. Bell, Transwestern managing director, advised the seller in the transaction. John Mitchell, senior vice president of LNR Partners, LLC, orchestrated the asset positioning and supervised the sale for the seller. Orion's managing principals currently have completed over $2.5 billion in transactions and have a current portfolio exceeding $500 million.

“This premier center attracted intense investor interest with more than 400 requests for marketing materials,” Bell tells GlobeSt.com. “LNR's strategic repositioning of the asset through renovations and solidifying the tenant roster created material value, and garnered maximum investor interest.”

Located at 201 North US Highway 1, the asset was built in 1981 and renovated in 2014. Currently 94% leased, the Shoppes at Jupiter anchor tenants include Cinépolis, Gold's Gym International Inc., Staples, and Bealls. According to Bell, head of the Florida Capital Markets team for Transwestern, “The seller repositioned the property by investing in renovations that added material value and solidifying the tenant roster to achieve maximum investor interest.”

During 2015, more than 500,000 square feet of retail space will be absorbed, supporting a 50-basis-point decline in vacancy to 5.6%, according to Marcus & Millichap. Last year, vacancy remained stable at 6.1%. In 2015, the average asking rent in Palm Beach County will climb to $19.72 per square foot, an annual gain of 2.0 percent. Last year, the firm reports, asking rents advanced 3.1%.

“Investors are keen on the local retail market, though enthusiasm among buyers varies significantly across the quality spectrum,” M&M reports. “Grocery-anchored class A assets trade at cap rates below 6% when listed and typically solicit several bids from buyers across the investor continuum. Outside of class A buildings in the multi-tenant sector, buyers are not as quick to bid but are reacting faster than in past years for available deals.”