OAK BROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: IRC), a leading real estate investment trust that owns and operates high quality, necessity and value-based retail centers in select markets primarily within the Central United States, today announced that it has formed a joint venture with Thompson Thrift Development, Inc. to develop Tanglewood Pavilions, a 158,000-square-foot power center that will be located in the regional trade area of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Tanglewood Pavilions is already approximately 70% pre-leased to in-demand national retailers Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less and Dollar Tree, with leases currently in negotiation for another 24,000 square feet of retail space that would bring the property to 84% leased occupancy. The center is shadow-anchored by a Walmart Supercenter.
“The Tanglewood Pavilions development project is an opportunity for IRC to purchase a high-quality shopping center with best-in-class national retailer tenants serving an expansive regional trade area, at better than market pricing,” said Scott Carr, chief investment officer for Inland Real Estate Corporation. “The national retailers that will anchor the property have selected this development as their primary expansion location in the area, effectively establishing Tanglewood Pavilions as the dominant retail center in this region. In addition, the joint venture development represents continued execution of IRC’s strategic plan to increase the geographic diversification of our operating platform via expansion into the southeastern United States.”
Located in northeastern North Carolina near the Atlantic Ocean only 45 minutes south of Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Va., Elizabeth City is the gateway to the Outer Banks vacation area. Tourism is a major economic driver in the area, generating estimated annual revenue in excess of $50 million. In addition, Elizabeth City is the county seat of Pasquotank County and home to the largest U.S. Coast Guard base in the nation.
Tanglewood Pavilions will be constructed on the west side of Elizabeth City, adjacent to a new highway extension, in the heart of the newest retail trade area along the rapidly expanding Halstead Blvd. corridor. The center is expected to be a regional shopping destination, drawing from portions of the entire 16-county Albemarle region of northeastern North Carolina, constituting an actual trade area of approximately 194,000 consumers with average household incomes of more than $55,000.
Thompson Thrift, a full service development and construction company with retail and multifamily projects across the midwestern, southeastern and southwestern United States, originally put the property under contract in early 2013 and has worked over the last 18 months to secure entitlements, anchor tenant leases and an economic incentive package for the project. The joint venture acquired the land in late September. Construction is underway and deliveries to tenants are scheduled to commence prior to the fall of 2015. Upon completion of construction and stabilization of the center, which is expected at 95% occupancy, IRC will acquire 100 percent ownership in the property at a pre-negotiated purchase price. IRC has an established relationship with Thompson Thrift, having purchased the Warsaw Commons regional power center in Warsaw, Indiana from the developer in April of 2013.
About Inland Real Estate Corporation
Inland Real Estate Corporation is a self-advised and self-managed publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and operating open-air neighborhood, community and power shopping centers located in well-established markets primarily in the Central United States. As of June 30, 2014, the Company owned interests in 135 investment properties, including 31 owned through its unconsolidated joint ventures, with aggregate leasable space of approximately 15 million square feet. Additional information on Inland Real Estate Corporation is available at www.inlandrealestate.com. To connect with Inland Real Estate Corporation via LinkedIn, visit http://www.linkedin.com/company/inland-real-estate-corporation, or via Twitter at www.twitter.com/IRC_REIT.
Certain information in this supplemental information may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not reflect historical facts and instead reflect our management's intentions, beliefs, expectations, plans or predictions of the future. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "seek," “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” “should” and “could.” Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that describe or contain information related to matters such as management's intent, belief or expectation with respect to our financial performance, investment strategy or our portfolio, our ability to address debt maturities, our cash flows, our growth prospects, the value of our assets, our joint venture commitments and the amount and timing of anticipated future cash distributions. Forward-looking statements reflect the intent, belief or expectations of our management based on their knowledge and understanding of our business and industry and their assumptions, beliefs and expectations with respect to the market for commercial real estate, the U.S. economy and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and investors should not place undue reliance on them. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to the risks listed and described under Item 1A”Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 28, 2014, as they may be revised or supplemented by us in subsequent Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement in this release to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
