Kimco Realty Trades Colorado Shopping Center

By Barbra Murray

The Market at Spring Creek

Kimco Realty Corp., with the help of disposition services provided by commercial real estate firm Transwestern, has sold The Market at Spring Creek in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 107,300-square-foot shopping center is now under the ownership of Western Centers Inc.

“Colorado Springs continues to draw investor interest, driven largely by population and job growth,” Larry Thiel, managing director with Transwestern, said in a prepared statement. “The Market at Spring Creek backs up to over 1,000 new homes and multifamily units, cementing it as one of the strongest value-add investment opportunities in Colorado Springs.”

Spring Creek, located on 11 acres roughly 70 miles south of Denver, carries the addresses of 1530, 1650-1728 and 1750 S. Circle Drive. The retail property first opened its doors in 1988 as a grocery-anchored shopping center. Today, the asset is 87 percent leased to 10 retailers, including Dollar Tree, Subway and anchor tenant Cameron Products, which occupies approximately 65,000 square feet.

Transwestern welcomed more than a few expressions of interest in Spring Creek. The property attracted seven offers from opportunistic and value add buyers, Transwestern’s Capital Markets team told Commercial Property Executive. Thiel was joined on the brokering of the transaction by Transwestern Managing Director Brad Cohen and Associate Lauren Quiram.

Meeting goals

As a general policy, Kimco does not comment on the properties it sells, Dave Bujnicki, senior vice president of investor relations, told CPE. However, the REIT’s motivation behind the disposition of Spring Creek and other similar properties was made clear during the company’s second quarter 2018 earnings conference call on July 26.

The Market at Spring Creek

“As we move through the remainder of 2018, given our continued emphasis on owning properties and dynamic growth markets, we remain focused on reducing the asset count in the Midwest, while also selectively pruning flat or low growth assets from other parts of the country,” Ross Cooper, president & CIO of Kimco Realty Corp., said during the call.

In pursuit of that ongoing goal, Kimco has designated $700 million to $900 million for dispositions in 2018. In the second quarter alone, the REIT sold 17 retail centers accounting for 2.7 million square feet in transactions totaling $334 million, leaving Kimco with $319.3 million. Among the properties the company recently parted with is the 73,910-square-foot Five Forks Crossing retail property in Lilburn, Ga. Kimco also sold Primrose Marketplace, a 367,748-square-foot shopping center in Springfield, Mo.

“Once again, our robust sales volume highlights the strong demand for open-air shopping centers, supported by significant levels of capital and historically low interest rates,” Cooper said in a prepared statement on the company’s second quarter sales activity.

Images courtesy of Transwestern