WashREIT Unloads $168M Retail Portfolio in Transition to Multifamily
By Keith Loria September 23, 2021 2:20 pm
reprints
Washington, D.C.-based WashREIT has sold a portfolio of eight retail assets in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland for $168.3 million.
This is the latest move as part of the real estate investment trust’s strategy to transition to a strictly multifamily REIT. Earlier this year, the company sold a 12-asset, D.C.-region office portfolio, totaling a combined 2.371 million square feet, to Brookfield (BN) Asset Management for $766 million.
The 695,991-square-foot portfolio includes two assets in D.C., Chevy Chase Metro Center at 5252 Wisconsin Avenue, and Spring Valley Village at 4820-4872 Massachusetts Avenue.
The properties in NoVA include 800 South Washington Street in Alexandria and Concord Center at 747 Main Street in Springfield. The Maryland properties consist of the Montrose Shopping Center and Randolph Shopping Center in Rockville, Takoma Park Shopping Center in Takoma Park, and Westminster Shopping Center in Westminster.
JLL (JLL) represented the seller in the deal. The buyer was not disclosed.
“JLL continues to see strong investor demand for opportunities to acquire retail, especially at-scale,” Danny Finkle, JLL’s co-leader in capital markets, said in a prepared release. “The asset class has proven resilient and offers investors appealing risk-adjusted returns in today’s low-yield environment.”
According to Finkle, the properties house different grocery anchors, including Food Lion, ALDI, Giant and MOM’s Organic Market. Other major retailers include Michaels, Mattress Firm, Planet Fitness, Crate & Barrel, Dollar Tree, and Chick-fil-A.
Joining Finkle on the deal were JLL Executive Managing Director Stephen Conley, Senior Director Jordan Lex and Vice President Kim Flores.
“The D.C. Metro area has long been a recession-resistant gateway market,” Lex said. “However, booming tech and life science sectors in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, respectively, have made well-positioned suburban retail in more demand than ever.”
Keith Loria can be reached at kloria@commercialobserver.com.
