Brixmor Buys Houston Shopping Center for $223M

Brixmor Property Group added a major Houston-area retail center to its portfolio with the $223 million acquisition of LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch, one of the priciest known retail deals in Texas this year.

The New York-based REIT acquired the 409,000-square-foot, open-air lifestyle center earlier this month, according to its second quarter earnings report cited by Realty News Report. The price amounts to $545 per square foot.

The 34-acre property, at 23501 Cinco Ranch Boulevard in Katy, is about 3 miles south of Interstate 10 in the Cinco Ranch master-planned community.

Anchored by Trader Joe’s, its tenant roster includes Athleta, Lululemon, Sephora, Warby Parker, Lovesac, a small-format Ikea and restaurants such as Cava, Grimaldi’s and Ambriza. The shopping center attracts more than 5 million visits annually, according to Brixmor.

The firm plans to capture upside as leases with below-market rents expire, said Mark Horgan, Brixmor’s executive vice president and chief investment officer.

The shopping center was developed by Houston-based Vista Equities Group, with Denver’s Amstar Group as equity partner. It opened in 2007 and sold a decade later to PGIM Real Estate, which brought in Poag Shopping Centers to manage and lease the property. PGIM tapped Trademark Property Company last year to handle leasing.

Brixmor already owns 30 other assets in the Houston area, which is its third-largest market. Those include the Whole Foods–anchored West U Marketplace and Lake Pointe Village in Sugar Land. The firm owns over 360 centers nationwide and closed $293 million in acquisitions last year while shedding more than $200 million in assets.

The Katy acquisition stands out for its price as much as its alignment with consumer trends. Open-air centers with strong dining and lifestyle offerings outperform traditional malls in the state’s main metros, especially in high-income suburbs like Katy.

— Judah Duke