SIx area Walgreens sold in portfolio sale

A joint venture between a pair of Miami-based firms that have been active Gulf Coast commercial real estate buyers have purchased a portfolio of Walgreens drug stores for $133 million — including six of the chain’s stores within the region.

Limestone Asset Management and Orion Real Estate Group closed on the 27 Walgreens stores earlier this month. Six of the stores are located in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, North Port, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, records show.

“We are extremely pleased to acquire this large Walgreens portfolio, featuring excellent sites with long-term value and a high-quality credit tenant,” said Ibrahim Al-Rashid, chairman of Limestone Asset Management, in a statement.

“This purchase reflects Limestone’s dedication to expanding its portfolio over all asset classes.”  

Financing for the Limestone/Orion purchase was provided by Wells Fargo. CBRE Group negotiated the transaction for the seller.

The acquisition follows Limestone’s $5.3 million sale of a 23,031-square-foot office and retail center in St. Petersburg, in May, to investor Ben Mallah of Equity Management Partners Inc.

Limestone and Orion had purchased the property in June 2016 for $2.9 million.

Last year, the pair acquired two retail properties on St. Armands Circle, in Sarasota, for $15.5 million. They also teamed up to buy a series of outparcels tied to Orlando’s Mall at Millenia for $22.7 million. Those buildings total more than 100,000 square feet.

Limestone, which was formed in 2010, now controls in excess of $300 million in commercial real estate assets.

Limestone and Orion’s purchase also comes as investors nationwide are clamoring for net-leased properties like Walgreens, where tenants pay rent and cover a range of expenses, providing landlords with steady yields.

In May, for instance, a pair of funds controlled by Chicago-based Oak Street Real Estate Capital bought five Walgreens stores around the Gulf Coast for $26.9 million.

That deal followed Oak Street’s purchase of another five Gulf Coast stores occupied by the nation’s second-largest drug store chain for $30 million, property records indicate.