Core Acquisitions purchased Rice Lake Square, a 251,584-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in west suburban Wheaton, Illinois.
The center was acquired from an institutional owner for $34.25 million on June 4.
The tenant roster at Rice Lake Square, developed in 1989 and renovated in 2011 and 2019, is anchored by Pete’s Fresh Market, Studio Movie Grill, and PetSmart, and also includes Message Envy, Orange Theory Fitness, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Men’s Wearhouse, Xfinity, and Taco Bell.
At acquisition, the center was 76.2% leased. The largest tenant at Rice Lake Square is Pete’s Fresh Market, an approximately 69,000 square foot grocery store that opened in 2019 after an extensive renovation of the space.
Rice Lake Square is located just east of the intersection of Butterfield Road and Naperville Road. That intersection is a highly concentrated retail trade area with the Danada East and West retail centers. The traffic counts near the center are 36,700 vehicles per day along Butterfield Road, 17,100 vehicles per day along Naperville Road, and 25,000 vehicles per day along Loop Drive.
Brad Joseph, Principal, Core Acquisitions, adds that some of the most attractive elements of the Rice Lake transaction include:
· Pete’s Fresh Market—the ~69,000 square foot grocery store has been a tenant at the center since 2019 and made a considerable investment in upgrading the space prior to opening. Pete’s has considerable term remaining on its lease.
· Studio Movie Grill—this entertainment-based tenant, scaled down their operations in 2021 , focusing on its best-located locations. Immediately prior to Core’s acquisition of Rice Lake,
Studio Movie Grill executed a long-term lease renewal at this location including a major renovation all of its theaters.
· The former SteinMart Space—the almost 39,000 square foot space represents a great opportunity for Core to add immediate value to the property through lease-up with several prospects already in negotiations for the space.
Rick Drogosz, principal, Mid-America Real Estate Corp. represented the seller in the transaction. Old National Bank provided the acquisition loan to Core. Core Acquisitions will provide property management services. Mid-America Asset Management, which has leased the center for approximately 20 years, has been retained to continue as leasing agent of e Rice Lake Square.
The acquisition of Rice Lake Square by Core Acquisitions represents the fifth significant shopping center acquisition the firm has made in just over one year. Those acquisitions total approximately 1 million square feet of space.
