Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. Enters into Contract to Acquire 261,566 Square Foot Shopping Center in Washington,...
March 27 2015 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
- Acquisition will expand Wheeler’s
geographic footprint to 4 locations in North Carolina
- Property is shadow-anchored by Walmart
Supercenter
- Leased by national tenants that include
Hallmark and Rite Aid
- Center is 100% leased
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHLR)
(“Wheeler” or the “Company”) announced today that the Company has
entered into a contract to acquire Washington Square (“Washington
Square” or the “Property”), a 261,566 square foot shopping center
located in Washington, North Carolina. The Company will purchase
the Property for $20.0 million, or approximately $76.46 per square
foot, using a combination of cash and debt.
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc.
(NASDAQ:WHLR) signs contract to acquire Washington Square, a
shopping center located in Washington, NC. (Photo: Business
Wire)
Jon S. Wheeler, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, commented, “We are very pleased to enter a contract to
acquire Washington Square. This center was first brought to our
attention through a private seller and we view Washington Square as
a great example of the off-market opportunities that are only
available to a team with years of experience and solid
relationships within the community. Washington Square fits our
acquisition criteria perfectly, as it is located in a tertiary
market with a 100% occupancy rate. The majority of the shopping
center is leased by national and regional tenants with whom we are
intimately familiar as many of these retailers occupy space in
other retail locations within our portfolio. We anticipate
acquiring Washington Square at a discount to replacement cost and
believe that this acquisition is a strategic use of the capital
raised from our recent financing. We are confident that this
property will generate a solid return for our investors, which we
believe will substantially increase in the years ahead.”
Washington Square – Washington, North
Carolina
Built in 1971 and 100% leased, Washington Square is
grocery-anchored by a Piggly Wiggly and shadow-anchored by a
Walmart Supercenter. National grocer, Food Lion has executed a
lease to replace the Piggly Wiggly, when its current lease expires
in 2017. The Property is also leased by national, regional and
local tenants that include Rite Aid, Hallmark, Shoe Show and Cato
Fashions.
Washington Square is a 261,566 square-foot shopping center
located on 26.2 acres of land off of West 15th Street in
Washington, North Carolina. The shopping center has direct access
to U.S. Route 17, a highway that travels north to south along the
Atlantic coast from Virginia to Florida. Washington Square is also
in close proximity to U.S. Route 264, a 195 miles long highway in
North Carolina that runs east to west from Raleigh to Mann
Harbor.
Location / Demographic
Information
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, and has
a population of approximately 47,759 people, as of the 2010 census.
Beaufort County, North Carolina is located approximately 20 miles
west of Greenville and approximately an hour drive from Rocky
Mount, North Carolina.
About Wheeler Real Estate Investment
Trust Inc.
Headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, Wheeler Real Estate
Investment Trust, Inc. specializes in owning, acquiring, financing,
developing, renovating, leasing and managing income producing
assets, such as community centers, neighborhood centers, strip
centers and free-standing retail properties. Wheeler’s portfolio
contains strategically selected properties, primarily leased by
nationally and regionally recognized retailers of consumer goods
and located in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Southwest
regions of the United States.
Additional information about Wheeler Real Estate Investment
Trust, Inc. can be found at the Company’s corporate website:
www.whlr.us.
Forward-looking
Statement
The Company considers portions of the information in this press
release relating to its business operations contemplated
acquisition strategy to be forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in
such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be
achieved. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that
are not historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. Specifically, the Company's statements regarding the
anticipated closing of the acquisition of the Property and the
anticipated profitability of such acquisition are forward-looking
statements. There are a number of important factors that could
cause the Company's operations to differ from those indicated by
such forward-looking statements, including, among other factors,
local conditions such as oversupply of space or a reduction in
demand for real estate in the area; competition from other
available space; dependence on rental income from real property;
the loss of, significant downsizing of or bankruptcy of a major
tenant; constructing properties or expansions that produce a
desired yield on investment; the Company's ability to renew or
enter into new leases at favorable rates; its ability to buy or
sell assets on commercially reasonable terms; its ability to
complete acquisitions or dispositions of assets under contract; its
ability to secure equity or debt financing on commercially
acceptable terms or at all; the Company's ability to enter into
definitive agreements with regard to its financing and joint
venture arrangements or its failure to satisfy conditions to the
completion of these arrangements and the success of its capital
recycling strategy. For additional factors that could cause the
operations of the Company to differ materially from those indicated
in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which are
available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date
hereof.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150327005048/en/
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust
Inc.Robin Hanisch, 757-627-9088Corporate
Secretaryrobin@whlr.usorLaura Nguyen, 757-627-9088Director of
Marketinglnguyen@whlr.usorINVESTOR RELATIONSThe Equity Group Inc.Terry Downs,
212-836-9615Associatetdowns@equityny.comorAdam Prior,
212-836-9606Senior Vice-Presidentaprior@equityny.com
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