InvenTrust hires Florida leasing rep

InvenTrust Properties Corp., a Downers Grove, Ill.-based real estate investment trust that owns nearly a dozen retail centers in Florida, has hired a representative to oversee the leasing of its properties in the Sunshine State.

Kara Morabito joins InvenTrust from Azor Advisory Services Inc. of Weston, where she’d worked as a retail leasing associate since October 2017. Morabito could not be reached for comment.

Along the Gulf Coast, InvenTrust owns a trio of centers – Gateway Market Center, in St. Petersburg; Sarasota Pavilion in Sarasota; and Peachland Promenade, in Port Charlotte.

InvenTrust acquired a portion of the 117,243-square-foot Charlotte County property from Benderson Development Corp. for $18.7 million in early 2019, records indicate. Peachland is anchored by Publix Super Markets Inc., Goodwill and Planet Fitness.

In St. Petersburg, InvenTrust’s 321,058-square-foot Gateway Market is anchored by Publix,  Bealls, Target and TJ Maxx. The company acquired that property and the 346,823-square-foot Sarasota Pavilion -- where primary tenants are Publix, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Marshall’s and Ross -- in 2009.

In addition, InvenTrust in Florida also owns centers in Palm Beach Gardens and Orlando. Occupancy in its Florida properties ranges from 97% to 99%, according to company data.

In all, the company owns 66 retail properties containing more than 11 million square feet in seven states, including Maryland, California and Texas, according to the company’s website.

Its portfolio is valued in excess of $3 billion, InvenTrust states.

Ivy Z. Greaner, an InvenTrust executive vice president and the company’s COO, says Morabito will work with local commercial real estate brokers and the company’s Southeast U.S. leasing team in each of the diverse Florida markets in which the REIT owns centers to provide “local intel and presence.”