Located at 15625-45 N. Kendall Dr. across from Walmart in Kendall, the center was built in 1985. It contains two components, a 42,341-square-foot Babies "R" Us store and an 18,156-square-foot retail strip called the Kendall Hammocks Shopping Center. Major tenants at the Babies "R" Us-anchored shopping plaza include Domino's Pizza, Farm Stores and Sherwin Williams.

The Babies "R" Us component contained a mortgage from Principal Life Insurance Co., which the seller assumed. Kendall Hammocks Shopping Center was delivered free and clear of debt.

“The Kendall market is among the most vibrant and successful retail trade areas in Florida given its dense population base and correspondingly large retail square footage,” Anthony Blanco, managing partner at Plaza Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com. “This transaction illustrates the continued strong demand for retail investments in South Florida as a whole, and specifically for properties with good operating histories and barriers to entry like this one.”

Meanwhile, Phillips Edison – ARC Shopping Center REIT acquired the St. Charles Plaza, a 65,000-square-foot shopping center in Haines City, for about $10.1 million in a bankruptcy auction. The shopping center is anchored by Publix Supermarket, which occupies 45,600 square feet on a long-term lease through October 2027. Other tenants include Verizon Wireless, Crispers, Publix Liquor and Hair Cuttery.

The St. Charles Plaza was constructed in 2007 and is located in the Lakeland metropolitan statistical area between Tampa and Orlando. St. Charles Plaza is 98.2% occupied.

“We believe this purchase delivers the key elements of our business plan: a stable and growing income stream anchored by the area’s dominant grocer and located in a highly trafficked area,” says Mark Addy, COO for Phillips Edison – ARC Shopping Center REIT. “And because we were able to buy this asset for what we believe is a great price and finance it using debt with attractive terms, this transaction will be accretive to shareholder value.”