Time Equities Acquires 380 KSF Shopping Center in Monroe, N.C.

by Keith Loria | Dec 29, 2014

Original article published on Commercial Property Executive

Time Equities, Inc. has acquired Monroe Crossing Shopping Center, a 379,630-square-foot regional shopping center in Monroe, N.C., from Madison Marquette.

“Generally, on the retail side, strip centers or malls, we are heavily focused on the basics—traffic counts, tenant productivity, visibility, curb appeal—and this property has all of those,” Ami Ziff, TEI’s national director of retail, told Commercial Property Executive. “As you enter Monroe, it’s a tight little retail market, offers a high quality of living, is proximate to Charlotte and all of those positives attracted us to the area.”

Located at 2107-2133 West Roosevelt Blvd., the center boasts the top performing Belk’s “Flagship” store, which is one of the top 10 stores nationally. Other notable tenants include JC Penney, Sears, Hibbett Sports, Shoe Carnival, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Planet Fitness.

The area has great visibility from Highway 74 and according to Ziff, retailers do very well there.

“There’s not a lot of vacancy and we were attracted to the strong leasing momentum and tenant productivity at the property,” he said. “We really like the fundamentals of the retail market there, and within that space, it is the dominant enclosed mall in Monroe and the retailers all do really well.”

The property underwent approximately $8 million in renovations over the last few years, including interior and exterior changes, so TEI has no major plans for renovations, however, Ziff added, as it takes back space, renovations will be made to bring in new retailers to help drive rent and occupancy.

According to a recent report by M&M, the area’s local employers will create more than 22,000 positions in 2014, attracting new residents to the area. The report also forecasts that by 2018, nearly 100,000 additional households are expected in the market.

TEI now owns properties in 25 states, four Canadian provinces and one in Germany, with a portfolio that consists of approximately 20 million square feet of residential, industrial, office and retail property.

“For us, we’re not generally your typical enclosed mall buyer but this is our third closed-mall acquisition,” Ziff concluded. “We don’t necessarily go to the market seeking them, but we are out there looking for good deals that we can grow and add value.”