Regency Centers purchases Willow Festival for $64 million

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Shopping center owner and operator Regency Centers said Thursday it has acquired Willow Festival shopping center in what is the second largest retail real estate transaction in metro Chicago in 2010.



The 405,227-sq.-ft. Northbrook, Ill., shopping center is anchored by Lowe's, Whole Foods Market and Best Buy. The property was purchased on Dec. 15 for $64 million as an off-market transaction with the center's original developer Hamilton Partners, a privately owned real estate development firm.



This is the second grocery-anchored shopping center acquisition by Regency in just four months, following the purchase of Glen Oak Plaza, a 62,443-sq.-ft. neighborhood center anchored by Trader Joes, in Glenview, Ill., two miles south of Willow Festival.