The Signal
The Palm Beach Gardens trade is the boring one, and boring is the point. A private Boston buyer paying $321/sf at 54% leverage for a 98%-leased Publix center is what core grocery-anchored pricing looks like when the ten-year is at 5%: low leverage, long hold, relationship bank.
Skokie is the print that should get attention. A regional bank writing roughly 82% of cost on a 724K-sf big-box power center is the most aggressive retail leverage we have logged this quarter. It says bank appetite for big-box has fully returned — or that the buyer's relationship and 95% occupancy carried more weight than the format.
Nuveen selling both is the connective tissue. A core fund exiting retail on gains into two different buyer profiles says the bid depth is real across the format spectrum.
Implications
Grocery-anchored buyers should expect to compete on equity, not leverage, at these cap rates. Power-center buyers can apparently find leverage again — which is exactly when underwriting discipline on tenant rollover and co-tenancy matters most. Loan figure is single-origin (CRE Direct); the sale is confirmed by multiple outlets.
Key Takeaways
- Grocery trades on equity, power centers now trade on leverage — and the leveraged print is the riskier one.
- $321/sf at 54% LTV is what core grocery-anchored pricing looks like with the ten-year at 5%.
- 82% loan-to-cost from a regional bank on big-box is the most aggressive retail leverage logged this quarter.
The Real Deal (Miami), Sept 14, 2026 — Mount Vernon Co. buys South Florida Publix shopping center · CRE Direct, Sept 15, 2026 — Regions Bank lends $99.55M to fund purchase of Chicago-area retail property · CRE Direct, Sept 15, 2026 — Mount Vernon Co. pays $66.85M for Palm Beach Gardens retail center · Crain's Chicago Business, Sept 2, 2026 — Village Crossing sale, largest Chicagoland retail deal in a decade
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