Equity One Acquires 6 Properties for $303M

Equity One announced this week that it had acquired, or is under contract to acquire, four properties for a total investment of $260 million; today, The Commercial Observer reported two additional properties were under contract, bringing the total investment to $302.5 million for the shopping enters in he New York Metropolitan Region and Bethesda, Maryland. "These acquisitions are consistent with our strategy of owning retail properties in urban markets with visible growth through contractual rent increases, below market rents and redevelopment opportunities," said Jeff Olson, CEO of Equity One.

The properties include:

Westwood Complex, a 22-acre property located in Bethesda, Maryland under contract with Capital Properties. The transaction is initially structured as a $95 million mortgage loan which has been funded.

Clocktower Plaza, a 78,820 square foot shopping center located in Queens, NY, for $56 million from Winstanley Enterprises.

Equity One finalized the acquisition of a Heyman Properties portfolio of three properties in Connecticut: Darinor Plaza at 500 Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk, Post Road Plaza at 400 Boston Post Road in Darien and Compo Acres at 380-400 Post Road in East Westport.

The company also closed on the purchase of two previously announced acquisitions, Darinor Plaza and 1225 Second Avenue.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Equity One Sells 2 CA Properties for $124.9M

Equity One announced this week that it had closed on the sale of two non-core assets in California for an aggregate sale price of $124.9 million according to a CoStar report. Trio Apartments, a 304 unit apartment building in Pasadena, CA was sold for $112.2 million, including the assumption of a $62.8 million mortgage. Equity One owned a 50% interest in the property. Park Plaza, a 73,000 square foot office building in Sacramento, CA was sold for $12.7 million, including the assumption of a $7.4 million mortgage. Equity One owned a 100% interest in the property. The buyers were not disclosed.

"We are pleased to continue our capital recycling efforts by selling non-core assets and redeploying the capital into extremely high quality shopping centers within our targeted markets" said Jeff Olson, CEO of Equity One.

Equity One also announced that they closed on the acquisition of Aventura Square in Aventura, FL for $55.5 million. Aventura Square is a 113,450 square foot shopping center anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy and DSW. Aventura Square is located at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and the William Lehman Causeway, just south of the Aventura Mall and adjacent to Equity One's Gateway Plaza property which is anchored by Babies R Us.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Blackstone Buys $473M in Shopping Centers

Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, a Blackstone Group LP fund, entered into an agreement with Equity One, Inc. to purchase 36 shopping centers comprising approximately 3.9 million square feet for $473.1 million according to a Boston Globe article. The assets in the portfolio were encumbered by mortgage loans having an aggregate principal balance of approximately $177.4 million as of June 30, 2011 Equity One said in a statement. Lazard Freres & Co. LLC acted as Equity One's financial advisor in the transaction while Eastdil Secured acted as Blackstone's financial advisor.

"We are very pleased to enter into this transaction with Blackstone," said Jeff Olson, Chief Executive Officer at Equity One. "Together with our $600 million purchase of Capital & Counties and other recent acquisitions, this sale significantly advances our strategic plan to concentrate our portfolio in the urban retail markets of New York, Miami, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles."

The shopping centers are predominately located in the Atlanta, Tampa and Orlando markets, with additional properties located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Maryland. A Businessweek article notes that retail centers with supermarkets are attracting investors because of the perceived safety of properties that consumers have to visit for necessities even in a slow-growing economy. Sales of U.S. grocery-anchored retail properties in the first half of this year exceeded the total for all of 2010, according to research company Real Capital Analytics Inc.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.