Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust buys Georgia shopping center for $3.7 million

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., a Virginia Beach-based REIT, has purchased LaGrange Marketplace, a 76,594-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in LaGrange, Ga., for $3.7 million, or $48.24 per leasable square foot.

The company said in a press release that it bought the property from a Wheeler affiliate, LaGrange Marketplace LLC, using a combination of cash, debt and operating partnership units.

Jon S. Wheeler, chairman and CEO, said in a statement, “This grocery-anchored shopping center is located in a progressive tertiary market and is over 92% leased by national and regional tenants that include Food Depot, Rite Aid, and Jackson-Hewitt. We expect the property to be immediately accretive to the company’s earnings. We are excited to add this location to our portfolio and view it as a great opportunity to expand the company’s presence in the state of Georgia.”

According to the REIT, LaGrange Marketplace, built in 1989, averages 10,320 vehicles per day. It has direct access to U.S. Route 29, an auxiliary interstate highway that runs north and south from Baltimore, Md., to Pensacola Fla.

LaGrange is located about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta and has a population of 67,044.

Wheeler, a publicly traded REIT, announced a contract earlier this month to acquire another shopping center in Georgia. It plans to buy Freeway Junction a 156,834-square-foot shopping center in Stockbridge, for about $10.5 million. The property is located about 16 miles southeast of Atlanta.