Suburban retail real estate is lagging, compared to other sectors, but  good assets in great locations will have interest from investors, especially from out of town. A Phillips Edison subsidiary purchased a Niles shopping center, adding to an already robust suburban portfolio.

Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT acquired Oak Mill Plaza, a 163k SF shopping center that's 96% occupied and anchored by a Jewel-Osco supermarket. The seller was longtime local real estate investor Harry Major, Crain's reports.

Phillips Edison VP Derek Taylor says Oak Mill fits with the firm's strategy of acquiring grocery-anchored retail in infill markets. The REIT also owns shopping centers in Park Ridge, Bensenville, Burbank and Glen Ellyn. Major was repped by Baum Realty's Greg Dietz and Danny Spitz.

Suburban retail is still bouncing back from the crash, but activity has picked up recently. Mission Capital is marketing Arlington Town Square in Arlington Heights to buyers. That property was most recently valued at $24M. Westfield's $1.1B mall portfolio sale last December included two area malls. Shopping centers anchored by Mariano's Fresh Markets, like Skokie Commons in Skokie, are also hot properties. [Crain's]