Site Centers has announced the plan to turn its convenience assets into Curbline Properties Corp – a separate publicly-traded real estate investment trust (REIT).
Curbline Properties (Curb) will be the first public REIT with an exclusive focus on the convenience sector, which offers attractive, inflation-protected returns driven by high renewal and retention rates, according to the company.
Upon separation from Site Centers, it is expected to be able to significantly grow its asset base with no additional near-term equity required.
The company plans to acquire additional convenience properties prior to the spin-off, which will be included in the Curb portfolio.
The expected executive lineup of Curb includes David Lukes as president and CEO, Conor Fennerty as CFO, and John Cattonar as chief investment officer.
“Our work over the past six years has resulted in a carefully curated mix of dominant grocery, lifestyle, net lease and regional power center properties located in the top submarkets in the United States with compelling near-term net operating income growth.
“Following the separation, Site Centers intends to continue maximizing value via our leasing and tactical redevelopment efforts and opportunistically realize value through asset sales where appropriate,” said David Lukes, president and CEO of Site Centers.
The spin-off is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.
Site Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate firm.
Since launching its convenience strategy in 2019, Site Centers has amassed a portfolio of 61 wholly-owned properties.
For the third quarter, its net income dropped to $45.9 million from $63.4 million in the year-ago period, while same-store net operating income increased 2.9 per cent.
The company sold 11 wholly owned shopping centers and acquired three convenience shopping centers during the quarter.
