Kimco acquires Wegmans-anchored lifestyle center outside DC

One of the nation’s largest operators of open-air centers in the United States has landed a signature property.

Kimco Realty has announced its acquisition of the 504,000-sq.-ft. Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge, Va. for $172.5 million. The 96%-occupied center off I-95 south of Alexandria is anchored by a 138,500-sq.-ft. Wegmans and the only Apple store in the trade area.

Since it merged with Weingarten Realty in 2021 to give it a portfolio of more than 560 centers, Kimco has focused on growth in Sunbelt markets, where populations are growing and construction and redevelopment approvals are easier to obtain. It has been open, however, to acquiring high-value properties in high-growth areas, and Stonebridge fits that bill.

"We’re excited to add Stonebridge, a premiere grocery-anchored center situated in a high barrier-to-entry location with strong demographics, to our portfolio,” said Ross Cooper, Kimco’s president and chief investment officer “This center boasts a robust growth profile that will complement and solidify Kimco’s position as the leading retail player in the suburban Washington D.C. market.”

Kimco reports that Stonebridge’s market area holds 230,000 people and an average household income of $125,000.

The center's tenant roster mixes national brands such as REI, Ulta Beauty, and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema with boutique fitness, personal services, medical uses, and restaurants. Its 22 food-and-beverage stops include Aroma Latin Fusion, Brew Republic Bierwerks, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Red Mango, and Crumbl Cookies.

Kimco also sees the opportunity to position Stonebridge as more of a mixed-use center with a potential to develop three outparcel retail buildings. It intends to enhance the center’s merchandising mix with the recapture of below-market leases and perhaps add multifamily housing.

“We’re always looking at our portfolio and, where we see upside with demos that are shifting, we’ll continue to grow,” Cooper told Chain Store Age in 2022. “Over the last five to seven years, we have been selling all our secondary and tertiary assets.”