Loja Group Acquires 4 Chicago Grocery Stores From Former Safeway Unit For $95M

Chicago, IL /PRNewswire/ - Walnut Creek, California, based Loja Real Estate today announced the acquisition of a portfolio of four Chicago grocery store properties from a former unit of Safeway Inc. for approximately $95 million, bringing its acquisitions this year to over $170 million. Loja Real Estate is a subsidiary of Loja Group LLC, which is managing $340 million in assets.

Tom Engberg, the CEO of Loja Real Estate, said the four, single-tenant grocery store properties are anchored by Whole Foods and Mariano's Fresh Market. They were purchased from Dominick's Finer Foods, LLC, in a transaction that closed November 13, according to Engberg. JLL and Guy Ponticiello represented Safeway as the investment sale advisor in the transaction.

"We're very excited to acquire this portfolio," stated Scott Kyman, Loja's vice president of acquisitions. "This is a great addition to our existing properties. These are premier Chicago locations, with 20 year leases and strong urban appeal."

The acquisitions consist of a total of 238,462 square feet of leasable space on 12.38 acres. Three of the properties are anchored by Mariano's, which opened earlier this year, and one is tenanted by Whole Foods, which is expected to open in the spring of 2015.

"Their short term stability and their long term potential to grow makes the properties excellent acquisitions," added Kyman.

Loja continues to pursue quality, single-tenant grocer acquisitions and grocery-anchored centers throughout the United States. The latest acquisition is Loja's fourth this year.

About Loja
Loja Group LLC is a real estate investment management firm with $340 million in assets under management. Through Loja Real Estate LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary, Loja acquires and manages commercial real estate assets throughout the United States. Additional information about Loja may be found at http://www.lojagroup.com.