Fourteen shopping centers anchored by Piggly Wiggly, Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo, has been acquired for a total of $71 million by Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust.
“We are pleased to enter into this contract and believe the assets will be a valuable addition to our property portfolio,” Jon S. Wheeler, Chairman and CEO of Wheeler, said in a press release. “The 14 grocery-anchored properties are located in what we believe to be progressive secondary and tertiary markets throughout the southeast, an area we know quite well and have a combined occupancy rate of 92 percent.”
13 of the acquired stores are located in South Carolina while one is located in Georgia, adding up to a total of 603,142 square-feet.
According to The Post and Courier, the purchase is being made from six affiliates of Greenbax Enterprises Inc., whose President and CEO, David R. Schools, is the same executive heading Charleston-based Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co.
Wheeler currently owns 53 properties, 19 of which are located in South Carolina and Georgia alone, according to a release. The majority of the company’s real estate are grocery-anchored centers, and this acquisition will add significant growth to its presence in the U.S.’s southeastern region.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
