CHARLOTTE—Phillips Edison – ARC Shopping Center REIT is continuing to target the Carolinas. Phillips Edison just snapped up two shopping centers in North Carolina via its joint venture PECO-ARC for $11.6 million.

“These two centers fall within our plan to purchase leading grocery-anchored centers in stable and growing markets which provide the majority of its income from national credit tenants within stable markets,” John Bessey, president of Phillips Edison, tells GlobeSt.com. Bessey says the company will work to increase revenues by decreasing expenses, creating new revenue sources and pushing the tenancy over time.

The anchor at both centers, Food Lion, along with other national tenants at each center composes 74% of base rents at each shopping center. Food Lion recently announced in its corporate brand repositioning strategy that it would highlight North Carolina as one of the states for an increasing density of Food Lion stores.