Publix just dropped over $100 million in cash to buy two Miami shopping centers

Publix Super Markets, the Florida-based supermarket chain, just dropped over $100 million in cash in a single month to buy two Miami-Dade shopping centers where its stores are tenants. According to The Real Deal, the grocer purchased the 204,740-square-foot Airpark Plaza for $83.3 million, marking its biggest grocery-anchored Miami-Dade retail deal in the past 20 years.

The company also bought the 82,500-square-foot Shoppes at Quail Roost for $23.7 million. The seller for both plazas was First Washington Realty, a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment firm led by CEO Alex Nyhan. The moves come as investors pile into grocery-anchored retail, with a recent survey by JLL, the commercial real estate services firm, showing that 81 percent of investors are seeking these assets.

Publix is paying for everything in cash without taking on debt, backed by an estimated $15 billion in cash to put to work. Jorge Portela, a JLL retail investment sales broker in Miami, said the grocer's acquisitions are likely driven by a desire to control its long-term future and avoid rent increases.

Publix owns more than 170 parcels across the tri-county area with a combined value of over $2.2 billion. Other grocers are also buying up real estate, including Sedano's, the Hispanic supermarket chain, which purchased a Miami retail plaza for $32 million in July.

Walmart, the retail giant, also owns dozens of stores across the region and recently acquired 24 acres in Westlake to build a supercenter.