New Jersey firm picks up two shopping centers in Broward for $49.2M

Two adjacent shopping centers in Fort Lauderdale home to Trader Joe’s were swept up by New Jersey-based PGIM Real Estate, property records show.

PGIM affiliate GA 1600 Commons LLC financed the deal with a $24.7 million mortgage from New York Life Insurance Company. Halvorsen Holdings is the seller.

The properties at 1520 North Federal Highway and 1550 North Federal Highway total 65,338 square feet and sold for $735 per square foot. Tenants also include Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza and an XFINITY Store by Comcast.

The land last sold in 2014 for $25.2 million, records show. The buildings were built between 2015 and 2017.

PGIM is also an equity partner of a 394-unit multifamily building in Related Group’s Doral CityPlace.

Jimmy Tate of Tate Capital, who is redeveloping Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale, predicted a shift in favor of Broward’s commercial market at a panel hosted by The Real Deal in April. Other developers agreed, citing the residential market’s slowdown.

Despite the nationwide retail slump, Fort Lauderdale and Miami were recently ranked as “top buy markets” for retail assets, according to a Ten-X Retail Market Outlook report released in May. Overall, vacancies in Fort Lauderdale fell to 8.9 percent last year, with rents averaging $17.86, while rents were forecasted to rise to $20.20 in 2020.