ATLANTA — BVT has finalized the sale of an 842,255-square foot retail portfolio to Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT), a $4.7 billion real estate equity fund. The deal included 10 grocery-anchored shopping centers valued at $130 million and located throughout the southeast and Texas. The transaction closed less than 60 days following contract execution.
Chris Decouflé with CB Richard Ellis’ National Retail Investment Group in Atlanta represented BVT. Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real estate investment advisors, provided advisory services to MEPT. BVT retains the management contract for all properties within the portfolio.
“The sale of this retail portfolio provided our fund investors with a sound return on their investment,” says Scott Farber, Vice President, BVT Management Services, Inc. “This portfolio includes quality retail properties in strong markets with dominant grocers that will continue to be great long-term assets.”
More than half of the portfolio is located in metro Atlanta, with those five neighborhood centers encompassing more than 426,250 square feet:
- Bethany Village, Alpharetta, Ga. (pictured above)
- Dean Taylor Crossing, Suwanee, Ga. (pictured below)
- Kedron Village, Peachtree City, Ga.
- Tree Summit Village, Duluth, Ga.
- West Cobb Marketplace, Marietta, Ga.
The remaining five properties, totaling 416,005 square feet, are situated throughout Florida and Texas:
- ChampionsGate Village, ChampionsGate, Fla.
- Goolsby Pointe, Riverview, Fla.
- Sawgrass Center, Coral Springs, Fla.
- Towne Centre at Wesley Chapel, Wesley Chapel, Fla.
- Four Points Center, Austin, Tex.
“These properties were all part of a single fund, and several of the loans were maturing, so we needed to refinance or sell, and early on it became obvious that based on interest that we’d be able to reach target threshold sale volume,” adds Farber. “We had the opportunity to return all equity plus more to our investors.”
BVT acquired these assets over a four-year period beginning in 2000. Each retail center includes a dominant grocer in each respective market, including Publix Super Markets, Kroger, HEB (H.E. Butts) and Sweetbay, along with 133 regional and local restaurants, retail goods and service providers. At the time of sale, the portfolio was 93 percent leased, as compared to the current average national occupancy level of 89 percent for neighborhood and community centers.
“[This transaction] speaks highly to the grocery anchored shopping center as a good investment,” says Farber. “When you have a dominant grocery anchor, that will be 60 percent of your occupancy, and even though they may pay lower rent, the volume will cover operating costs or even your mortgage with that tenant alone, and that’s a very attractive and stable investment.”
Overall, BVT is continuing to look at more of investments of this type, particularly in the same region — Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Though the turbulence in the global markets may delay immediate investment from European stakeholders, Farber said BVT is looking to create another fund to seek similar opportunities going forward and in 2012.
— Dan Marcec