United Hampshire US REIT (UHREIT), a Singapore real estate investment trust sponsored by UOB Global Capital and The Hampshire Companies, has acquired Penrose Plaza, a 258,494 s/f grocery-anchored shopping center located at 2900 Island Ave in Philadelphia, Pa., and Colonial Square, a 168,326 s/f grocery-anchored shopping center located at 3107 Boulevard in Colonial Heights, a suburb of Richmond, Va.
The transactions mark the UHREIT’s first post-IPO acquisitions and the UHREIT’s first acquisitions in their respective states.
The additions of Penrose Plaza and Colonial Square bring the total number of assets in the UHREIT to 24. Spanning over 3.6 million square feet, the UHREIT currently contains 20 grocery-anchored and necessity-based properties and four modern self-storage facilities along the Interstate 95 corridor.
Currently 94.1 percent leased, Penrose Plaza is anchored by ShopRite and is home to a diverse array of additional tenants including dd’s Discounts, Dollar Tree and Citi Trends. Located in Southwest Philadelphia, 581,000 people live within a five-mile radius of the property and its convenient location offers superior regional connectivity via nearby major highway arteries such as Interstates 95, 476 and 76. In addition to favorable residential demographics, over 20,000 businesses employing nearly 194,000 people can be found within a five-mile radius. Major local employers include the U.S. Postal Service, Amazon and Philadelphia International Airport.
Located off Interstate 95 just south of Richmond, Va., Colonial Square is accessible to the 87,400 people residing within the immediate vicinity of the property as well as the growing Richmond metro area. The shopping center enjoys a strong nearby business community with over 3,000 nearby employers including Fort Lee and Virginia State University. The property consistently experiences high occupancy rates standing at 99.1 percent leased and is home to anchor tenant Publix and as well as Locke Supply Co., Wells Fargo and Dollar General.
“Strong annual GDP growth and an improving economy have continued to power a robust necessity-based retail real estate market across the eastern United States,” said Robert Schmitt, Chief Executive Officer of the UHREIT.
“The acquisition of these two properties represents a significant opportunity to tap into this continued strength by adding two high quality, resilient and stable income-producing grocery-anchored and necessity-based properties to our already robust portfolio of high performing assets.”
Derek Gardella, Head of Investments of the UHREIT added, “With highly favorable demographics, strong population density and strong buying power in the eastern portion of the United States, the overall grocery-anchored real estate market has shown remarkable resilience throughout all stages of the pandemic. As we look to 2022, we remain optimistic about the broader market’s long-term prospects and look forward to identifying further opportunities to acquire grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail properties in the eastern half of the country to continue to grow the UHREIT and tap into continued demand.”
The seller in the Penrose Plaza transaction was represented by Brad Nathanson, Senior Managing Director Investments at Institutional Property Advisors. The Seller in the Colonial Heights transaction was represented by JLL Capital Markets Senior Director Jordan Lex, Director Daniel Naughton and Managing Director Bill Moylan.
