Cincinnati shopping center trust buys Heron Creek Towne Center

BUYER: Heron Creek Station LLC (principal: Phillips Edison), Cincinnati
SELLER: Heron Creek 3S LLC
PROPERTY: 1289 S. Sumter Blvd., North Port
PRICE: $8.65 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $7.4 million, January 2003
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. purchased the 64,664-square-foot Heron Creek Towne Center for $8.65 million.

The price equated to $134 per square foot.

The Publix-anchored neighborhood shopping center is 90.4% occupied. Its 10 other tenants include Subway, The UPS Store and Sparkle Brite Pool Stores.

Mark Shellabarger of CBRE's Tampa office and Cliff Taylor of the Jacksonville office represented the seller, a private Tennessee-based investment group.

“Phillips Edison was attracted to the center because of the Publix grocery store anchor, stable history of the small shop tenants and convenient, central location in North Port,” Shellabarger says in a press release.

Publix recently renovated its store in the center.

The buyer is a public non-traded REIT focused on acquiring and managing well-occupied grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers throughout the United States. The purchase brings Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT's total portfolio to 23 properties with an aggregate purchase price of $251.5 million. Locally, the firm owns the Publix at Northridge in Sarasota.