Polk County: Phillips Edison Grocery REIT buys Lake Wales CVS Pharmacy building

BUYER: Lake Wales Station LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio
SELLER: Cole CV Lake Wales LLC
PROPERTY: 500 11th St. S., Lake Wales
PRICE: $3.5 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.18 million, November 2010
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Kutak Rock LLP, Scottsdale, Ariz.

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
The Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II Inc. purchased an 11,200-square-foot drugstore for $3.5 million.

The price equated to $313 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($129) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The building was constructed in 1999 and occupies a 1.8-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Highway 60 East and 11th Street South. The concrete building is leased to CVS Health and operated as a CVS Pharmacy.

The freestanding drugstore is an unusual acquisition for the real estate investment trust, which focuses on buying and managing grocery anchored retail shopping centers. However, it and other freestanding retail buildings were acquired as part of the REITs recent purchase of a portfolio from Cole Capital.

Speaking through a media representative, the firm said the freestanding properties were cross collateralized with other retail properties in the portfolio and that it would have been cost prohibitive to unwind them. Further, the company expects to generate value out of these properties and will potentially look to sell them in the future.

As of March 2, Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II, which is sponsored by Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Co., owned and managed 24 shopping centers with 2.6 million square feet of space.