Halpern Continues Retail Acquisition Spree in Southeast

CHARLOTTE, NC—Halpern Enterprises is continuing to execute its acquisition strategy across the Southeast. The Atlanta-based investment firm just snapped up Rock Hill Crossing, a 50,000-square-foot retail center on the west side of the Charlotte, N.C. suburb of Rock Hill, SC. Halpern paid about $8 million in an all cash deal.

With its latest retail acquisition, Halpern now owns and manages 34 retail centers in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Halpern made its first move to grow outside Georgia in December when it bought a retail center in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“The size of our target acquisitions is anywhere from $2 million to $20 million. Above that would require bringing in a partner,” Bill Brown, president of Halpern Enterprises, tells GlobeSt.com. “This initiative is opportunity-driven. We are looking at opportunities every day, and we have to look at a lot of deals to find the ones that will work for us. That said, we are in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities we decide to pursue.”

Halpern Enterprises represented itself in the purchase of the property at 4875 Old York Rd. Zach Taylor and Don McMinn of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Bright–Meyers Rock Hill, L.P. The property, which is next to a Walmart Supercenter as a shadow anchor, is 100% occupied. The tenant line up includes Dollar Tree, GNC, Verizon, T-Mobile, Shoe Show, and Sports Clips.

Brown says Halpern is continuing to look for both top-performing and challenged retail properties, focusing on opportunities in the Southeast. The firm evaluates opportunities on a case-by-case basis, he explains, because there isn’t only one formula for success.

“We are certainly location-driven,” Brown says. “We want the right locations. That said, we are looking for the potential to add upside by improving a center’s performance. In some cases, a center may be in a great location and has a number of quality tenants, but has suffered from other challenges, such as in distressed situations with the lender or partners.”

Despite Halpern’s recent successes executing its acquisition strategy, Brown admits it is challenging to find quality assets at a reasonable price. He says his team is working to constantly expand its industry network so Halpern staff hears of these opportunities early.

“Then, we have to be ready to do a deal efficiently and fast,” Brown says. “It helps that we are a privately held company that can make decisions quickly and can do all cash deals.”

By Jennifer LeClaire
Globe Street.com