Two Massachusetts-based real estate investment companies have partnered in the $7.42 million purchase of a Stop & Shop-anchored retail center in West Hartford, marking the first acquisition for newly formed Levy Legacy Group.
In a deed recorded July 1, affiliates of Levy Legacy Group and Hajjar Management each acquired a 50% ownership interest in the 15.9-acre property at 176 Newington Road.
The property was sold by an affiliate of Oak Brook, Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Group. It includes five retail buildings totaling 73,566 square feet, a 5,972-square-foot light industrial building and a 3,200-square-foot bank branch.
Joshua Levy, founder of Levy Legacy Group, is also co-founder of Waterstone Properties Group. The LLC Levy used to purchase the West Hartford property lists Waterstone’s Needham, Massachusetts address.
Waterstone describes itself as New England’s second-largest retail developer. The company says it manages more than 4 million square feet of commercial real estate across 51 properties and acquires and develops shopping centers, mixed-use projects, residential communities, logistics properties, office buildings and medical campuses.
Milton, Massachusetts-based Hajjar Management develops and manages residential and commercial real estate throughout New England and beyond, according to its website.
The purchasing limited liability companies financed the acquisition with $5.55 million in mortgages from Torrington Savings Bank.
The West Hartford acquisition is Levy Legacy Group’s first investment, according to Ivy Greaner, chief operating officer of the new company.
The partners were able to acquire the property for roughly half of its previous sale price of $14.48 million in 2013, according to public records. This provides a lower cost basis that will support new investment and tenant recruitment in the plaza, Greaner said.
Greaner said the shopping center is about 85% occupied, with vacancies primarily in smaller retail spaces. The partners are considering adding quick-service restaurant buildings to the property. These could attract tenants whose customers could also benefit other businesses in the center, she said.
Town records show the property includes five retail buildings dating to 2010 and 2011, along with the 3,200-square-foot bank branch and a 5,972-square-foot light industrial building built in 1963.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.
