Richmond Retail Trade Reflects Market's Lure

RICHMOND, VA- Midlothian Festival Shopping Center, a 38,893-sf center located on 4.53 acres along Midlothian Turnpike, has sold to a Vienna, VA-based investor for $3.4 million or $87.42 per sf. The buyer of the fully occupied shopping center, NHM Enterprises, typically buys properties in Northern Virginia and suburban Washington, DC.

“But prices there have gotten so high there are no deals to be had,” John Madures, associate director with GVA Advantis, tells GlobeSt.com. Madures represented the seller, Charleston AN, in the sale of the Chesterfield County shopping center.

According to Madures, a new wave of investors have entered the Richmond market, targeted retail centers, from strip malls, which are a favorite of 1031 Exchange investors (as can be seen by Silver Spruce LLC’s acquisition of The Shops at Railey Hill to higher-end retail centers that are preferred by institutional investors. Cap rates for Richmond retail tend to be as low as 7.5% to more typical rates of 8% to 9%. The Midlothian Festival Shopping Center traded at an 8% rate.