Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Company plans to purchase Sendik’s Towne Centre in Brookfield, according to commercial real estate sources. The company is conducting due diligence and the deal could be completed soon, sources said.
The sale is being handled by Patrick Gallagher, chief executive officer of Siegel-Gallagher. John Kuhn, senior vice president for Siegel-Gallagher, is handling leasing for the property. Kuhn declined to comment on the likelihood of Phillips Edison purchasing the property. A representative for Phillips Edison did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Sendik’s Towne Centre is a 189,116-square-foot mixed-use development located on a 28-acre site at the southwest corner of Capitol Drive and Brookfield Road. It is anchored by a Sendik’s Fine Foods grocery store. The center was developed by a group of investors including Thomas Thomson of Brookfield-based Thomson Corp., Thomas Balistreri Jr. of Sendik’s, and Briohn Building Corp. founders Brian Byrne and John Maliszewski. Briohn Building Corp.’s offices are also located in Sendik’s Towne Centre.
In 2009 the development group for Sendik’s Towne Centre filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the property was later sold to its lender, Harris Bank (now BMO Harris Bank).
Sendik’s Towne Centre currently has an occupancy rate of about 90 percent, Kuhn said. There are a handful of sites on the property where additional buildings could be constructed.
Phillips Edison & Company owns a portfolio of more than 26 million square feet of neighborhood shopping centers across the country.
One source estimated that the company will purchase Sendik’s Town Centre for $13-14 million.
The center has struggled with a high vacancy rate. It has a good location with high traffic counts and strong demographics, but its town center-style layout with office space above retail spaces and different buildings, interior roads and parking areas, has been a detriment, one sources said. However, a strong operator should be able to take advantage of the strong location and turn the property around, he said.
“It serves a market,” he said. “It’s a good grocery-neighborhood retail shopping center.”
