New Joint Venture Eyes $350M Shopping Spree

ROCKVILLE, MD-Federal Realty Investment Trust joined forces with Clarion Lion Properties Fund to snap up $350 million in shopping centers in its six core markets in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Northern and Southern California. Together, the shopping center REIT and the private equity real estate fund–which is advised by New York-based ING Clarion partners–will seek out stabilized grocery-anchored shopping centers with high barriers to entry in densely populated markets over the next two years. Federal Realty will carry the responsibility of managing the venture.

“The real value of the venture is we’ll be able to go out and acquire stabilized outfits that wouldn’t otherwise meet our operating income requirements, in hopes of furthering our dominance in those key markets,” Andrew Blocher, Federal Realty’s vice president, Capital Markets & Investor Relations, tells GlobeSt.com. “We can now execute those acquisitions that enhance our growth as opposed to detracting from it.”