Epic Real Estate, Heitman Sell Publix-Anchored Retail

Core Investment Properties Fund, along with a partner, has acquired a Publix-anchored shopping center in Plantation for $53 million.

Grocery-anchored retail centers remain highly sought after in South Florida, as this property type continues to demonstrate resilience against the rise of e-commerce and other market pressures.

Core, based in Miami, and James Resnick, an investor from Miami Beach, purchased the 184,300-square-foot Jacaranda Plaza located at 8101-8373 West Sunrise Boulevard. The sellers were Epic Real Estate Partners of Austin and Chicago-based Heitman, according to public records and the real estate database Vizzda. The buyers secured a $34.5 million loan from U.S. Bank to finance the acquisition.

The purchase price equates to $288 per square foot.

Jacaranda Plaza is comprised of three single-story buildings constructed in 1974 and 1999, spanning a total of 16.2 acres, according to Vizzda’s data. The plaza underwent a renovation in 2013.

In addition to Publix, the center is anchored by Ross Dress for Less. Other tenants include Five Below, Planet Fitness, Dollar Tree, and Value Care At Home, a nurse registry service.

Records show that an entity affiliated with Epic—led by Daniel Holland, Jason Maddox, and Nick Tortorice—purchased the plaza for $29.3 million in 2016. In 2022, Epic and Heitman formed a joint venture, through which Epic recapitalized five properties, including Jacaranda Plaza, according to a joint press release from that period.

Core is a retail investment firm specializing in the Southeast, particularly Florida, and manages a portfolio of approximately 2.5 million square feet, according to its website. Led by Adam Greenberg and Michael Lapointe, Core has been an active player in the South Florida market.

In August, Core and Spectrum Business Ventures sold the Aldi-anchored Palmetto Plaza at 15905-16341 Northwest 57th Avenue in Miami Gardens for $22.5 million, representing a discount. The buyer took over the $22.5 million loan on the property, which Core and Spectrum had previously acquired for $33.6 million in 2020, according to records.

In 2022, Core acquired Deerwood Town Center at 11905 and 12107 Southwest 152nd Street in Miami-Dade County’s West Kendall neighborhood for $44.8 million.

Resnick’s South Florida investments include Kendall Marketplace, located at 11531-11631 Southwest 88th Street in Kendall, purchased for $32 million in 2022.

Other notable recent grocery-anchored retail transactions include Boca Raton-based Carlyle Management and an entity managed by Edward Rutkovsky acquiring Royal Eagle Plaza at 9100-9190 Wiles Road in Coral Springs for $60.5 million last month. That center features anchors such as Aldi, Hobby Lobby, and Petco.

In September, San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital Group paid $118.4 million for the 150,600-square-foot retail component of the Uptown Boca mixed-use development at 20940 Uptown Avenue near Boca Raton. Whole Foods Market serves as the anchor tenant at this plaza.