Nuveen Real Estate is jumping into South Florida’s grocery-anchored shopping center game with a recent $46.3 million purchase in Broward County that is part of the firm’s broader strategy focused on neighborhood retail properties.
An affiliate of Chicago-based Nuveen, led by Bill Huffman, bought Coral Landings III, an Aldi-anchored shopping center at 6166 and 6208 West Sample Road in Margate, records and data provider Vizzda show. The buyer financed the acquisition with a $52.2 million Bank of America loan that also covers Nuveen-owned properties in other states.
The 172,500-square-foot retail plaza is divided into six single-story buildings completed in 2008, 2009 and 2019, according to Vizzda. Nuveen’s price was $268 per square foot.
The seller, an affiliate of West Palm Beach-based Sterling Organization, paid $37.4 million in 2022 for the 23.2-acre site, records show. Nuveen paid 24 percent more than that.
The purchase fits squarely within Nuveen’s recently expanded U.S. cities retail strategy, which targets neighborhood shopping centers anchored by grocery stores and featuring daily-needs tenants. In March, Nuveen raised $330 million to acquire such properties, with firm executives noting grocery-anchored retail sites are resilient to market conditions.
Nuveen is the investment arm of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA).
South Florida grocery-anchored shopping centers have been a magnet for retail investors since 2022, as properties with tenants providing essential goods and dependable cash flow attracted capital. The format has held up better than other retail categories because grocery stores draw steady foot traffic, support smaller service-oriented tenants and are typically viewed as recession-resistant.
Sterling brought Aldi on as the anchor tenant shortly after acquiring Coral Landings III four years ago. Other tenants include HomeGoods, Tijuana Flats, Sonic, Tropical Smoothie Café, Bonefish, Mac’s Sports Grille and MD Now Urgent Care.Sterling has been in sell mode recently. The firm sold Pompano City Centre for $65.2 million in December. The Pompano Beach shopping center is anchored by several big box tenants including Burlington and Nordstrom Rack.
