Grocer Publix is back on the prowl, buying two retail centers — which its supermarkets anchor in Davie, Fla. — for a combined $82.9 million from PGIM Real Estate and Southeast Centers, property records show.
In the largest deal, the Lakeland, Fla.-based grocery company paid $50.7 million for Davie Shopping Center, a 12-acre property at 4701 South University Drive, near the intersection with Griffin Road, less than two miles south of Nova Southeastern University.
The retail center features 107,887 square feet of leasable space. Only 3,591 square feet remains available to lease, according to the property’s website. Besides the 47,133-square-foot Publix, tenants include Starbucks, Baptist Health, H&R Block, My Eyelab, The UPS Store, Jet’s Pizza, and Leslie’s Pools.
The deal marks a return for Publix as a landlord. In 2003, the grocer sold the retail center for $11.2 million to Newark, N.J.-based PGIM Real Estate and Coral Gables-based Southeast Centers, according to property records. After that purchase, the duo added at least a 5,946-square-foot retail building and a surface parking lot.
In the second deal, Publix paid $32.2 million for Regency Square at 4901 SW 148th Avenue, just east of Interstate 75 in the Davie suburb of Southwest Ranches.
The 14.4-acre property is home to 98,967 square feet of retail space, including a 48,555-square-foot Publix. Other tenants include Estrella Insurance, Dairy Queen, Hertz, Weight Watchers and Edible Arrangements.
To hedge against rent hikes, and as retail investment sales have slowed due to skyrocketing interest rates, tenants have stepped up this year, buying some of their stores. These include some of the biggest names in fashion, such as Kering and Prada in New York, as well as Alo Yoga and Whole Foods in Miami.
For Publix, the acquisitions mark at least its fourth in South Florida this year. It previously purchased a 230,970-square-foot property in Key West for $75 million and a 157,914-square-foot shopping center in Coral Springs for $59 million.
Representatives for Publix, PGIM Real Estate and Southeast Centers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.