Westwood Financial, a leading retail real estate investment firm, announced the Company’s progress on transactional and operational initiatives for 2017.

Westwood acquired four assets totaling $100 million and disposed of 13 assets totaling $104 million. Acquisitions included a Trader Joe’s-anchored center in Charlotte, an H-E-B-anchored center in Houston, and an urban community center in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The acquired shopping centers have an average rent per square foot of $25.25, an average three-mile household income of $102,000, and an average three-mile population density of 174,000.

The Company secured long-term, fixed-rate financing with multiple high-quality life insurance companies, raising $180 million in new loan proceeds at a weighted average interest rate of 3.8%. Westwood was represented by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF).
Additionally, Westwood executed 198 new and renewal leases totaling more than 791,000 square feet. The Company also increased its leased rate to 94.6%, an increase from 93.9% from year-end 2016.

“We made exceptional strides on the Fund’s portfolio transformation in 2017,” says Joe Dykstra, Co-CEO of Westwood Financial. “We remain focused on upgrading the portfolio through continued de-risking by selling low-quality assets, and reallocating the equity into higher-quality shopping centers with significantly better long-term growth profiles.”

“Our operational results were also very strong in 2017, which is representative of the quality of the Westwood portfolio and the operating team,” adds Co-CEO Randy Banchik. “In 2018, we expect to build on our success and continue to focus on building out the organization, the redevelopment pipeline, and seek additional ancillary income opportunities.”