Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center buys Crystal Beach Plaza

BUYER: Crystal Station LLC (Phillips Edison - ARC Shopping Center Operation), Cincinnati
SELLER: Crystal Beach Plaza Investors LLC
PROPERTY: 2850, 2870 and 2900 Alternative 19, Palm Harbor
PRICE: $12.1 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.25 million, May 2005

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. purchased the 59,015-square-foot Crystal Beach Plaza for $12.1 million.

The price equated to $205 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($146) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The shopping center is anchored by a 39,203-square-foot Publix grocery store. Other tenants include Great Clips, Gulf Coast Nutrition Center and Quality Plus Cleaners. It was 82.9% occupied at the time of the sale. The center occupies a 5.95-acre site at the intersection of Alternate US 19 and Alderman Road.

Mike Milano and Ron Schultz of Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the seller.

“Crystal Beach Plaza offered the buyer the best of both worlds,” Milano says in a press release. “The center provided Phillips Edison with a strong performing Publix while leaving enough upside for [a] near-term increase in value.”

The real estate investment trust, sponsored by Phillips Edison & Co. and AR Capital LLC, targets well-occupied grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers. It owns 59 grocery-anchored properties in 21 states, with an aggregate portfolio purchase price of $857 million.