Venture Fund Buys Suburban Shopping Center

ATLANTA-The Center America fund, a venture capital group comprised of Houston-based CenterAmerica Property Trust, is the new owner of the 105,679-sf Mableton Walk shopping center at 5015 Floyd Road in suburban Mableton, GA.

The property carried an $8.5 million price tag, or $80.43 per sf, according to a published report. The seller was undisclosed. Mableton Walk is anchored by Publix and Piccadilly Cafeteria.

CenterAmerica’s acquisitions manager, Gary Cunningham, declined to confirm the reported selling price. He tells GlobeSt.com Center America went ahead with the acquisition because of the shopping center’s location and performance.

“We only buy grocery-anchored shopping centers,” Cunningham says. “The center needs to be doing a minimum volume–and this one was above that–and the center needs to be performing well.”

He adds, “It’s in a growing area, well-located and is one of the better shopping centers in the market.”

Trammell Crow Co. representative Eric Zimmerman tells GlobeSt.com a non-disclosure clause in the purchase agreement, which Trammell Crow signed, prohibits him from commenting on the sale.

The sale price, however, will be recorded at a later date in county real estate records and become public information.

Zimmerman confirmed only that Crow brokered the deal and that it is the only one of its kind in Mableton in which his company has participated. The broker didn’t disclose the center’s occupancy or age.

The Center America fund is a partnership between CenterAmerica Property Trust and an unidentified pension fund. Cunningham said the pension fund is advised by AE&W of Boston, a capital management advisory company, but declined to identify the fund itself.