Publix has officially become its own landlord at a popular shopping plaza just outside of The Villages, purchasing the supermarket’s commercial site and multiple adjacent retail parcels for approximately $32.5 million.
According to Sumter County property records, the massive commercial real estate transaction was finalized on May 4 and included three separate parcels within the Trailwinds Village development. State corporate records show that the buyer, Real Sub LLC, is a subsidiary registered to Publix. The grocery giant purchased the properties from Trailwinds Grocery LLC, Trailwinds Shoppes I LLC, and Trailwinds Shops III LLC.
The multi-million dollar sale encompasses a large retail footprint anchored by a 9.66-acre parcel containing the Publix supermarket itself, which accounted for $19.7 million of the total purchase price.
In addition to securing its own real estate, Publix is now the landlord for multiple attached storefronts included in the sale: Marco’s Pizza, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, a nail salon, Sunrise Asian restaurant, Great Clips, Pedego Electric Bikes, Club Pilates, an Edward Jones financial office, a medical clinic, and an AAA location.
The other two parcels were sold for $6.9 million and $5.9 million. They include buildings with a recently opened Outback Steakhouse, Mattress Warehouse, Crumbl Cookies, and Verizon Wireless.
While the transaction represents a significant portion of Trailwinds Village, several other major retailers within the sprawling development currently own their own commercial sites and were not included in the sale. That includes independent parcels within the plaza that currently belong to Lowe’s, Aldi, and Target, among others.
Publix opened its doors at Trailwinds Village in the summer of 2020, joining Lowe’s at the 165-acre mixed-use development.
At the time of the grocery store’s grand opening, the surrounding shopping center was still largely in its infancy, with many of the adjacent storefronts actively under construction or in the early planning phases.
Since then, Starbucks, Circle K, Target, and several other businesses have opened locations between the anchor grocery store and Lowe’s, which opened in 2018.
The $32.5 million acquisition by Publix adds to a recent string of high-profile commercial real estate sales in the area.
That includes a property along County Road 466 in The Villages that sold for $2.65 million, just days after an assisted living facility serving the community was purchased for over $9 million by a healthcare real estate group.
Additionally, a restaurateur family spent $2.45 million on a warehouse just north of The Villages and a new Wawa at a busy Sumter County intersection sold for $2.585 million.
A shopping center was sold for $2.1 million to a family of Villages professionals and a parcel across from Pinellas Plaza was scooped up for $1.3 million.
Before that, Blackstone bought an 11-acre property near The Villages for $4.5 million and a new marijuana dispensary at an old car wash site was sold for $1.87 million.
What are your thoughts on the sale of the parcels at Trailwinds Village? Share them in a comment below or, if you have more to say on the topic, write a letter to the editor.