CINCINNATI—Phillips Edison-ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. has just picked up another pair of grocery store-anchored shopping centers, this time in the Midwest, the latest in a string of similar purchases. Cahill Plaza is a 69,000-square-foot center located in Inver Grove Heights, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis, approximately 20 miles southeast of the city, and Duck Creek Plaza is a 134,229-square-foot center located in Bettendorf, Iowa, part of the Quad Cities bordering Iowa and Illinois.

Cahill is anchored by a 52,017-square-foot Cub Foods, the No. 1 traditional grocer by market share in the greater Minneapolis area. And Duck Creek Plaza has a 63,706-square-foot Schnucks grocery store, one of the largest privately-owned grocers in the Midwest, as its anchor. This is the first Schnucks grocery store-anchored shopping center in the Cincinnati-based trust's portfolio. In addition to the Schnucks anchor, Duck Creek also features a 28,270-square-foot Marshall's store.

Phillips Edison officials say they have now boosted their portfolio to interests in 61 properties anchored by 26 leading grocers in 21 states, with an aggregate portfolio purchase price of approximately $885 million. In August, they said their most recent acquisitions had brought their total portfolio to 52 properties with 21 leading grocers in 19 states, totaling 5.5-million-square-feet, and with an aggregate portfolio purchase price of approximately $746.3 million.