South Florida investors are looking for grocery-anchored retail a little closer to home as well. "The demand for grocery-anchored retail properties in the Jacksonville region--particularly those anchored by Publix and situated in established trade areas--is extremely strong in part due to a rapid recovery in occupancy rates and market rents, Shopping Center Group director of investment sales Anthony Blanco tells us.

The Shopping Center Group's Miami-based investment sales team recently repped a global investment firm in its sale of the Shoppes of Palm Valley, a 42.9k SF neighborhood shopping center in Ponte Vedra Beach, a Jacksonville suburb, to a private Florida investor (Pictured above; we're starting a collection of Publix facade pix). The property serves an affluent customer base and benefits from a strategic position within its trade area, Anthony says.These factors led to a substantial number of interested investors and ultimately resulted in an aggressive price point," he notes.