Photo courtesy of JLL
Three central Connecticut Stop & Shop-anchored single-tenant retail buildings have sold as part of a multi-state, $295 million portfolio sale.
The properties involved are:
- 1391 Main St., Willimantic
- 195 West St., Cromwell
- 15 Franklin St., Seymour
A joint venture of Winstanley Enterprises and Surrey Equities sold the properties, which included eight other single-tenant buildings also leased to Stop & Shop for stores on a long-term basis in densely populated markets in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The portfolio totals 748,141 square feet of retail space.
The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies Inc. acquired the assets.
JLL Capital Markets’ Investment Sales Advisory team represented the seller. The team was was led by Managing Director Nat Heald and Senior Managing Director Jose Cruz along with Senior Managing Director Chris Angelone and with support from Managing Director Matthew Sherry.
The JLL Capital Markets Debt Placement team representing the new owner included Senior Managing Directors Lauren O’Neil and Elliott Throne.
The JLL team also arranged $157.95 million in acquisition financing for the deal, plus two separate 10-year, fixed-rate loans with a life company and with a CMBS lender, it said in a statement.
Matthew Tice, senior vice president of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions LLC, facilitated the acquisition on behalf of Inland.
“This portfolio’s established and necessity-based footprint, combined with 20-year leases at all 11 properties in strong market locations, is an ideal example of the opportunities we seek to acquire as we move further into 2021,” Tice said in a statement.
“The demand and ultimate pricing we saw for this portfolio represents a new pricing paradigm within the single-tenant net-lease space,” JLL’s Heald said in a statement. “Since the value of these types of assets appreciated throughout the pandemic, we anticipate investors will continue to aggressively pursue these defensive positions within the retail sector and that demand will far outstrip supply for the foreseeable future.”
According to JLL Research’s recently released U.S. Grocery Tracker 2021 report, grocery-anchored retail centers continue to be investors’ preferred retail property type. JLL said it predicts single-tenant grocery assets, like the ones represented in this portfolio, along with grocery-anchored retail under 100,000 square feet, will be one of the most sought-after asset classes during the recovery. The company also said it anticipates there will be significant cap rate compression over the next 12 to 18 months.
“Entering 2021, lenders were hungry to put out capital, particularly in lower-risk assets, like credit, long-term, net-leased retail,” O’Neil said in a statement. “The two lenders offered the best combination of economic terms and ability to close on a tight timeline. The strength of the Inland acquisition team and process, coupled with the real estate, garnered some of the most attractive terms available.”
