Federal Realty sells Wellington shops to Publix for $53M

Federal Realty Investment Trust, the same firm that nabbed headlines this year when it acquired Miami’s CocoWalk and Shops at Sunset Place retail centers, just sold a large shopping strip in Wellington for $52.8 million.

The sale includes a 110,724-square-foot shopping center called the Courtyard Shops at Wellington, located on 13 acres at 13860 Wellington Trace. Federal also sold the complex’s five outparcels, which house three banking locations, a Shell gas station and a McDonald’s.

An aerial view of the shops at 13860 Wellington Trace

Palm Beach County records show the buyer was Real Sub LLC, which is managed by executives of Publix Supermarkets Inc. The shopping center is anchored by a Publix.

The grocery chain announced in March that it would invest $1.3 billion in real estate, building new stores and technology during 2015.

Federal first acquired the shops in 2008 for $37.9 million, according to a news release at the time. The firm made a cool $14.9 million premium over what it paid seven years ago.

The firm has made a name of itself in South Florida with institutional-level investments: in October, Federal and its local partners paid $110 million for the Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami. And in May, the firm purchased a majority interest in CocoWalk, an open-air shopping center in Coconut Grove.