Continental Realty Corp. acquires 17th Fla. property in off-market transaction

Continental Realty Corporation (CRC), a Baltimore-based real estate investment and management company with more than $3.6 billion of Assets Under Management (AUM), has purchased its 17th retail asset in Lakeland, Florida with the acquisition of Lakeside Village, a nearly 460,000-square-foot super-regional lifestyle center.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

CRC acquired the asset in an off-market transaction, with Danny Finkle and Eric Williams of the Miami office of Jones Lang LaSalle representing the unnamed seller. CRC has now acquired nearly $630 million worth of shopping centers over the past three years.

Lakeside Village was purchased on behalf of Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund I, LP (CRORF), a closed-end fund for which $261 million has been raised since 2021, including $200 million in the Fund and $61 million in three co-investment vehicles. Since the inception of CRORF, CRC has acquired 10 retail properties comprising nearly 2.4 million square feet of space and deployed nearly $150 million of equity. Since 2012, CRC has raised almost $1 billion in equity for retail and multifamily investments across five real estate funds and multiple associated co-investments.

CRC owns and manages a diversified portfolio of more than 9,000 apartment homes, as well as retail centers and other commercial properties consisting of almost 8 million square feet, serving the real estate needs of more than 1,100 tenants across 10 states. CRORF was formed as a vehicle to target and acquire a diversified portfolio of distressed, opportunistic, and value-add retail properties throughout the United States.

Constructed in 2005, Lakeside Village is 91% leased, anchored by Belk, Cobb Theatre, Books-A-Million and shadow-anchored by Kohl’s. The center includes more than 70 tenants offering a diverse mix of uses, including entertainment, medical/health care, fitness, food, and beverage as well as 46,000 sf of Class A office space.

The open-air shopping center sits on 88 acres with more than 2,000 feet of frontage on Polk Highway, which connects to Interstate 4 and the greater metropolitan areas of Orlando and Tampa. The immediate area is growing organically, with more than 900 multifamily units planned for development on a property adjacent to Lakeside Village, joining the existing 312 apartments located behind the center and four hotels on the site.

With this acquisition, CRC now owns and manages nearly 2 million square feet of retail space throughout Florida.

CRC plans to embark on a more than $3 million renovation strategy in the immediate future, focusing on replacing the shopping center’s roof, painting the exterior, and revitalizing the commercial office space.