An upstart Miami real estate investor is already expanding beyond his South Florida borders in an effort to enlarge his value-add portfolio.

Highline Real Estate Capital just purchased a neighborhood retail center in a suburb of Metro Atlanta called Stone Mountain. The 51k SF Citadel Square Shopping Center, anchored by Office Depot, is a prime example of Highline's investment strategy: Properties that hold the promise of clear, value-add opportunities, Highline's founder, David Moret (above), said. Highline picked it up for $1.75M from a CMBS trust that foreclosed on the property last year.

Citadel is Highline's second acquisition since forming last February. But it certainly will not be the last, as the firm scours the Southeast for products, especially in Tampa, Orlando, Southeast Florida and Atlanta, Moret said. This past summer, Highline — in a JV with Sefira Capital — purchased Cypress Point Office Park (above), a six-building, 165k SF office campus off Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, for $13.1M.

Moret said he's eyeing mainly retail and office projects, although Highline is open to select apartment deals.

“There's the greatest amount of dislocation in the retail market these days,” mainly due to the continued surge of online shopping, Moret said, who formerly was a principal at CREC. “I've always pursued retail deals where there was some opportunity to re-tenant.”