A Chicago developer has snatched up a prominent shopping center in Monroeville, as it continues to expand its retail and office footprint in the Pittsburgh region.
M&J Wilkow is acquiring the iconic Miracle Mile shopping center on Route 22 as part of a joint venture with Alto Real Estate funds.
Ten Capital Management, a Cleveland, Ohio, real estate investment management firm, announced the sale of its limited partnership interest in the shopping plaza Monday.
The purchase price was $78 million, according to Commercial Real Estate Direct, an industry publication.
Allegheny County real estate records show that the shopping center was last purchased in 2005 for $52 million. According to its release announcing the sale, Ten Capital acquired its interest in 2014. The shopping center is assessed at $40.2 million.
Marty Sweeney, M&J Wilkow senior vice president, declined comment.
The real estate company is taking over a high-performing retail property at a time when many shopping malls and centers are struggling because of online sales.
Miracle Mile, which opened in 1954, is 98 percent occupied, up from 94 percent when Capital made its acquisition. Anchor tenants include Marshalls, Old Navy, Office Max, DSW, and LA Fitness.
Rent increases averaged more than 9 percent for new and existing tenants during the time Ten Capital held the property, according to Paul DiSandro, the company’s portfolio manager.
The acquisition is the latest for M&J Wilkow in the Pittsburgh area. The Chicago firm now owns more than 3 million square feet of space in the region. It has spent $335 million acquiring properties locally.
Holdings include two side-by-side office buildings on Stanwix Street Downtown — the former Westinghouse Building on Stanwix Street, which it bought for $81.3 million in February, and 20 Stanwix, which it acquired for $38.1 million in 2015.
M&J Wilkow also owns the 154,000-square-foot former Art Institute of Pittsburgh building at 420 Boulevard of the Allies. It is converting that into an office building with open floor plates and amenities like a tenant lounge, a fitness complex, and a 60-person conference center.
On the retail side, the company owns the Waterfront retail complex in Homestead, and the Plaza at the Pointe in North Fayette in conjunction with Alto. It also owns 275 Technology Drive in Canonsburg and Penn Center East in Wilkins.
At the latter, M&J Wilkow is planning a new retail strip mall, a self-storage facility, and a Texas Roundhouse restaurant.
The strip mall and a CubeSmart storage facility will replace the former Sears store on the opposite end of Route 22 from Miracle Mile.
In the Shops at Penn Center East near the old Sear’s store, Texas Roadhouse will replace an old Brewstone restaurant and a Starbucks will be relocated near Texas Roadhouse to allow for a drive thru.
In a July interview, Mr. Sweeney said M&J Wilkow wasn’t afraid to invest in retail despite the woes brick-and-mortar stores were experiencing.
“It’s in our DNA,” he said then. “We’re probably not smart enough to be scared of it. So we keep looking at it.”
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
This story was updated to reflect how much M&J Wilkow has spent acquiring properties locally.
First Published: November 21, 2017, 1:36 p.m.
Updated: November 21, 2017, 3:36 p.m.
