Orion expands N.C. portfolio with $26.1M shopping center acquisition

Miami-based Orion Real Estate Group announced the $26.1 million acquisition of Watauga Village, an 88,800-square-foot, Food Lion-anchored neighborhood shopping center at 276 Watauga Village Drive in Boone, North Carolina. The transaction closed Sept. 23. The acquisition marks Orion’s first shopping center investment in North Carolina and expands the firm’s existing presence in the state.

Orion currently owns or manages an additional 23 properties totaling 101,583 square feet throughout North Carolina. All 23 are single-tenant, triple-net properties, making Watauga Village the firm’s first shopping center acquisition in the state.

Watauga Village is located in the commercial center of Boone, the hub of North Carolina’s High Country and home to Appalachian State University, which has approximately 21,800 students. The center is shadow-anchored by a Walmart Supercenter and sits adjacent to Watauga Medical Center, the region’s primary hospital.

In addition to Food Lion, the center’s tenants include Michaels, Mercy Urgent Care, Spectrum, Tropical Smoothie Café and Wingstop. The property is fully leased.

Orion was attracted to the Boone market because of strong retail demand driven by Appalachian State University and the area’s robust second-home market. The market also has limited competing supply and high barriers to entry due to the region’s topography.

“Watauga Village is the kind of asset we look for: a well-located, grocery-anchored center in a market with strong demand and very little competing supply,” said Tom Falatko, senior vice president of acquisitions at Orion Real Estate Group. “As our first shopping center acquisition in North Carolina, Watauga Village builds on Orion’s existing presence in the state and expands our portfolio into a new asset type within the market.”

CBRE National Retail Partners represented the seller in the transaction. The CBRE team included Adam Russ and Erin Varol, senior vice presidents, and Will Register, associate.