26-Property Retail Portfolio To Trade for $400M

ROCKLAND, MA-In one of the largest retail portfolio transactions in New England’s history, a joint venture partnership has been selected as the winning bidder for 26 shopping plazas owned by Tedeschi Realty Corp., GlobeSt.com has learned. The deal, said to be in the $400 million range, involves properties in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

WestRidge Realty Advisors and Dividend Capital Total Realty Trust beat out several major prospects for the package, according to sources. One called the likelihood of the partnership’s selection as 100% and another concurred that the partnership has won out. “They do,” that source said when asked if the two firms have control of the deal. WestRidge is a Connecticut-based investment firm focused on retail properties, while Dividend Capital is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Denver.

The portfolio is being brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle’s Boston investment team, led by retail specialist James Koury. JLL, Dividend Capital and WestRidge officials did not respond to phone calls by press deadline, while Tedeschi President Terrence Tedeschi is unavailable, according to a company spokeswoman who explains he is in Las Vegas for the International Council of Shopping Centers’ spring convention. The woman indicated that a buyer has been named, but said she was unsure who that group was, and offered that the P&S has not been signed. One source maintained that the buyers are eager to cement the deal and predicted the process will move to a quick conclusion. Sources maintain that the winner had been pitted for at least one week against one suitor in the finalist round, supposedly an entity from New York.