REIT Acquires Two Shopping Centers Along I-95

 By Ingrid Tunberg Globest.com

United Hampshire US REIT, a Singapore REIT sponsored by UOB Global Capital and the Hampshire Cos., has acquired two grocery-anchored shopping centers along the Interstate 95 corridor.

The acquired properties comprise the 258,494-square-foot center, Penrose Plaza, located at 2900 Island Ave. in Philadelphia, PA, and the 168,326-square-foot center, Colonial Square, located at 3107 Boulevard in the Richmond, VA suburb of Colonial Heights.

The two transactions serve as UHREIT’s first post-IPO acquisitions, and represent UHREIT’s first acquisitions in the respective states.

The transactions bring UHREIT’s total number of assets to 24, representing more than 3.6 million square feet. The REIT currently has 20 grocery-anchored and necessity-based properties and four modern self-storage facilities along the Interstate 95 corridor.

Penrose Plaza is currently 94% leased and is anchored by ShopRite. The shopping center is tenanted by an array of tenants including dd’s Discounts, Dollar Tree and Citi Trends. The property offers access to More than 20,000 businesses and 581,000 residents are located within a five mile radius of the property.

Colonial Square is currently 99% leased and is anchored by Publix. The property is also leased to Locke Supply Co., Wells Fargo and Dollar General, and is situated near 87,400 residents in the immediate vicinity and Richmond metropolitan area.

“Strong annual GDP growth and an improving economy have continued to power a robust necessity-based retail real estate market across the eastern U.S.,” says Robert Schmitt, UHREIT’s CEO. “The acquisition of these two properties represents a significant opportunity to tap into this continued strength by adding two high-quality, resilient and stable income-producing grocery-anchored and necessity-based properties to our already robust portfolio of high performing assets.”

Derek Gardella, Head of Investments of the UHREIT added, “With highly favorable demographics, strong population density and strong buying power in the eastern portion of the U.S., the overall grocery-anchored real estate market has shown remarkable resilience throughout all stages of the pandemic,” states Derek Gardella, UHREIT’s head of investments.

“As we look to 2022, we remain optimistic about the broader market’s long-term prospects and look forward to identifying further opportunities to acquire grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail properties in the eastern half of the country to continue to grow the UHREIT and tap into continued demand.”

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