Austin Business Journal Feb 7, 2022
An Illinois-based REIT announced on Feb. 7 it acquired two Austin-area shopping centers anchored by three major retailers for $189.3 million.
The centers changing hands were the 357,000-square-foot The Shops at Arbor Trails, anchored by a Costco Wholesale and Whole Foods, and the 168,000-square-foot Escarpment Village, where grocer H-E-B is the lead tenant.
InvenTrust Properties Inc. acquired both South Austin shopping centers on Feb. 2.
“These properties are great additions to our portfolio and further strengthen our foothold in the highly sought after Austin market,” David Heimberger, chief investment officer of InvenTrust, said in a statement. “This transaction validates the company’s self-funded business plan and will bring meaningful cash flow growth to our platform. Our balance sheet continues to remain well-positioned to fund additional acquisitions in 2022 and beyond.”
An InvenTrust spokesperson said the company does not have anything else pending at the moment but does plan to be an active player within the Austin market.
InvenTrust (NYSE: IVT) already established a presence in the Austin metro prior to the acquisitions of The Shops at Arbor Trails and Escarpment Village. The portfolio includes Kyle Marketplace, Scofield Crossing, University Oaks Shopping Center, Shops at The Galleria and The Parke.
Both shopping centers were previously owned by Christopher Commercial Inc., according to reporting by Austin Business Journal in 2016. Christopher Commercial is part of Austin-based Christopher Investment Co., which developed, managed and owned manufactured housing communities in Southeast Michigan before selling those interests a little more than a decade ago in exchange for class A properties in Austin.
A Christopher Commercial subsidiary called Independence Woods LLC transferred The Shops at Arbor Trails to an InvenTrust subsidiary Feb. 2, according to Travis County records.
