A troubled real estate firm has sold a shopping center it owns in Henrico County.
Centro Properties Group, a multinational real estate firm with headquarters in Australia, sold the Westpark Shopping Center at 9645 W. Broad St. to Dallas-based Westdale RECap Partners.
The sale price has not been disclosed, but Cushman & Wakfield | Thalhimer broker Jim Ashby confirmed that the deal closed Monday.
“It is a strong grocery anchored retail shopping center that is located in one of the stronger areas along West Broad Street,” said Ashby. Thalhimer will be leasing and managing the center.
“There are a lot of centers on the market here in Richmond, this group thought this one was extremely attractive,” Ashby said.
The center is anchored by a Martin’s grocery store. Other tenants include Virginia ABC, the Tile Shop, Victory Lady Fitness, Romp n’Roll, Hair Cuttery and Wine & Beer Westpark.
Jeff Allen, a managing partner of Westdale RECap, said the shopping center fit in perfectly with the firm’s investment requirements. The shopping center is the company’s only property in Richmond, although its parent company previously owned some multifamily property in the area, Allen said.
Allen said his company is close to lining up a tenant to fill a 30,000-square-foot vacancy at the center, a former Linens ‘n Things.
“We are real close to a deal with a new retailer. This would be its first and probably only location in Richmond,” Allen said.
Allen said his firm is also planning to start shining up the center.
“We are going to do a couple things with it: clean up some of the deferred maintenance, the parking lot needs a bit of work, and we will do some additional landscaping,” Allen said.
Centro took over the property in 2005. It was originally developed by a division of S.L. Nusbaum Realty and partly owned by Ukrop’s Supermarkets.
Centro owns about 600 shopping centers throughout the United States, which according to a recent Wall Street Journal story has received buyout offers from the likes of Blackstone Group LP and others. More than a third of the firm’s unsecured debt of $18.4 billion is coming due at the end of this year, most of which has been auctioned to hedge funds and private equity groups at steep discounts. (You can read more about that in a WSJ story here.)
Centro still owns the Tuckernuck Shopping Center, also on West Broad, and Hanover Square Shopping Center on Bell Creek Road in Mechanicsville.
Matt Lake, who owns Wine & Beer Westpark, has been a tenant of the center for more than five years. Lake said he is optimistic about having a new landlord.
“I don’t think that the previous owner added too much value to the real estate,” Lake said. “There are a lot of things that could have happened over here for the last few years, but there wasn’t a push to keep up with new construction in as far as decor and keeping it full.”
Lake said he met members of the new ownership group when they first looked at the property last summer.
“I told them about my hopes, and they seemed pretty receptive,” Lake said, “I’m hoping the new owners bring a little energy.”
A troubled real estate firm has sold a shopping center it owns in Henrico County.
Centro Properties Group, a multinational real estate firm with headquarters in Australia, sold the Westpark Shopping Center at 9645 W. Broad St. to Dallas-based Westdale RECap Partners.
The sale price has not been disclosed, but Cushman & Wakfield | Thalhimer broker Jim Ashby confirmed that the deal closed Monday.
“It is a strong grocery anchored retail shopping center that is located in one of the stronger areas along West Broad Street,” said Ashby. Thalhimer will be leasing and managing the center.
“There are a lot of centers on the market here in Richmond, this group thought this one was extremely attractive,” Ashby said.
The center is anchored by a Martin’s grocery store. Other tenants include Virginia ABC, the Tile Shop, Victory Lady Fitness, Romp n’Roll, Hair Cuttery and Wine & Beer Westpark.
Jeff Allen, a managing partner of Westdale RECap, said the shopping center fit in perfectly with the firm’s investment requirements. The shopping center is the company’s only property in Richmond, although its parent company previously owned some multifamily property in the area, Allen said.
Allen said his company is close to lining up a tenant to fill a 30,000-square-foot vacancy at the center, a former Linens ‘n Things.
“We are real close to a deal with a new retailer. This would be its first and probably only location in Richmond,” Allen said.
Allen said his firm is also planning to start shining up the center.
“We are going to do a couple things with it: clean up some of the deferred maintenance, the parking lot needs a bit of work, and we will do some additional landscaping,” Allen said.
Centro took over the property in 2005. It was originally developed by a division of S.L. Nusbaum Realty and partly owned by Ukrop’s Supermarkets.
Centro owns about 600 shopping centers throughout the United States, which according to a recent Wall Street Journal story has received buyout offers from the likes of Blackstone Group LP and others. More than a third of the firm’s unsecured debt of $18.4 billion is coming due at the end of this year, most of which has been auctioned to hedge funds and private equity groups at steep discounts. (You can read more about that in a WSJ story here.)
Centro still owns the Tuckernuck Shopping Center, also on West Broad, and Hanover Square Shopping Center on Bell Creek Road in Mechanicsville.
Matt Lake, who owns Wine & Beer Westpark, has been a tenant of the center for more than five years. Lake said he is optimistic about having a new landlord.
“I don’t think that the previous owner added too much value to the real estate,” Lake said. “There are a lot of things that could have happened over here for the last few years, but there wasn’t a push to keep up with new construction in as far as decor and keeping it full.”
Lake said he met members of the new ownership group when they first looked at the property last summer.
“I told them about my hopes, and they seemed pretty receptive,” Lake said, “I’m hoping the new owners bring a little energy.”