IRC Retail Centers joint venutre purchases Alabama property

OAK BROOK - IRC Retail Centers' joint venture with MAB American Retail Partners has acquired 10 acres of land in the urban center of Mobile, Ala., for the development of Midtown Mobile, a 62,403-square-foot shopping center.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced.

The venture has signed a lease with Publix to build a 39,203-square-foot grocery store with pharmacy drive-through at the center, which will also include 23,200 square feet of shop space located on five free-standing building pads. The joint venture expects to begin construction in November and complete construction in the fall of 2017.

The Midtown Mobile shopping center will be in the Midtown neighborhood of Mobile, at the northeast corner of Old Shell Road and N. Florida Street. Old Shell Road is a primary east/west commuter route connecting Midtown and the Spring Hill area to downtown Mobile. The Mobile central business district, the Medical District, the Bel Air Mall District, and other activities/employment centers are all within a five-minute drive of the center.

"The new Publix at the Midtown Mobile shopping center will provide a high-quality grocery option to shoppers in a trade area that currently suffers from a lack of supermarket choices," said Scott Carr, executive vice president and chief investor officer for IRC Retail Centers. "The Publix store format will be customized specifically for this densely-populated urban location, to better serve the local customer base and accommodate anticipated high levels of shopper traffic. We expect this infill location and the traffic generated by Publix to attract a unique mix of retailers reflective of the character of the Midtown neighborhood."