Grocer Sedano’s Buys Miami Retail Plaza for $32 Million

Hispanic supermarket chain Sedano’s just dropped $32 million to purchase a Miami shopping center anchored by one of its stores, records show.

An entity tied to the Hialeah-based grocery chain bought the 101,000-square-foot Bird & 87th Village retail plaza at 8665 Bird Road from an LLC associated with Isabelle Amdur of Amdur Management. Agustin Herran, CEO of Sedano’s, is listed on the LLC that acquired the property.

The buyer assumed the seller’s $6.7 million mortgage, which was boosted to $40.1 million by Ocean Bank. The sale price breaks down to $316 per square foot.

Located south of the Fontainebleau neighborhood, records show the property was built in 1980 and last sold in 2004 for an undisclosed price.

Other tenants at the plaza include Office Depot, a U.S. Century Bank branch and the Emergency Center Coral Gables Hospital. The deal includes the acquisition of the Denny’s outparcel.

Sedano’s operates nearly three dozen stores in Florida, most of them in Miami-Dade County, with additional locations in Broward County and the Orlando-Kissimmee area — typically situated in communities with a large Hispanic population.

Some grocery chains buy out the shopping centers they anchor to replace rent payments with ownership, generate income from other tenants and gain greater control over future leasing decisions. In Sedano’s case, the acquisition is financed with mortgage debt, meaning the company will make loan payments instead of rent. According to LoopNet, retail rents in the area fall between $37 and $45 per square foot.

Publix is one of the most notable grocery stores for this real estate acquisition strategy and has been buying out its landlords at several of the shopping centers it anchors throughout South Florida.