Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust buys Richmond shopping center for $18.5 million

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. said Thursday that it has acquired Brook Run Shopping Center, a 147,738-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Richmond. Wheeler, based out of Virginia Beach, said it acquired the property from an affiliated entity of the company and that it has an acquisition value of about $18.5 million, or $125.22 per leasable square foot.

The REIT said it paid for Brook Run using a combination of proceeds from the company’s recent financing, debt and issuance of operating partnership units. Wheeler is a self-managed commercial real estate investment company that focuses on acquiring and managing retail properties with a primary focus on grocery-anchored centers.

“Brook Run Shopping Center is a perfect example of our acquisition criteria as it is a ‘necessity-based’ retail focused property that is located in a growing secondary market with a majority of its tenants either nationally or regionally known,” Jon S. Wheeler, the company’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

According to Wheeler, the center is 91.2 percent leased . Built in 1990, it is anchored by a Martin’s Food Market and CVS pharmacy. The majority of the remaining space is occupied by nationally and regionally known tenants that include Crunch Fitness, Hair Cuttery, and H&R Block. Wells Fargo and Merchant’s Tire and Auto shadow anchor the property. J. Sargent Reynolds Community College is located about 3 miles from the center.

Located on U.S Route 1, Brook Run is close to Interstate 95 and also has nearby access to Interstate 64.