Cohen & Steers Income Opportunities REIT buys two open-air shopping centers for $92.3 million

Cohen & Steers Income Opportunities REIT bought two open-air shopping centers for a combined $92.3 million, the REIT announced Oct. 13. Both acquisitions closed through its programmatic joint venture with The Sterling Organization, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based private equity real estate firm focused on retail. CNSREIT holds a 99% interest in the venture.

Grand Canyon Crossing, a 309,000-square-foot center in Phoenix anchored by a 207,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter, closed Sept. 25 for $59.8 million. Manchester Village, a 162,000-square-foot community center in Rock Hill, S.C., closed Oct. 8 for $32.5 million. The REIT says both properties are 99% occupied, and the prices are subject to closing costs and customary prorations.

The REIT's NAV rose about 5% to $391.5 million at Sept. 30, from $373 million at Aug. 31. Real estate investments rose to $761.4 million from $698.7 million; the company attributes the increase to the Phoenix acquisition. The Rock Hill closing occurred after the Sept. 30 valuation date. Mortgage debt rose to $397.6 million from $366.1 million.

The Sterling venture previously bought Winslow Bay Commons in Mooresville, N.C., for $61.2 million in May. Mooresville and Rock Hill sit on the Interstate 77 corridor on either side of Charlotte. "The Rock Hill area is also seeing rapid growth as the Charlotte metro pushes south," said James S. Corl, chief executive officer of CNSREIT and head of Cohen & Steers' private real estate group.