A publicly traded Illinois real estate investment trust said last week that it is entering the Wisconsin market by buying The Pavilion at Mequon Shopping Center for $18 million.
Tucker Properties Corp. owns and manages 4 million square feet of shopping centers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, said Richard H. Tucker, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
The company, based in Northbrook, Ill., was attracted to Mequon, a Milwaukee suburb, partly by its lack of shopping centers, he said.
“We like to go into markets where we can see a quality development with minimal competition and minimal development opportunities around it,” Tucker said.
Tucker Properties bought The Pavilion, which has 213,000 square feet, from Mequon Limited Partnership, based in Tulsa, Okla. Mark Tanguay, president, and Jeff Kowal, associate vice president, of Tanguay-Burke-Stratton Comprehensive Real Estate Services represented Tucker in the deal.
The Pavilion is the largest shopping center in Mequon. While the city’s population continues to grow, Mayor James Moriarty and other political leaders have limited attempts to develop new retail businesses.
The Pavilion, which opened in 1990, also has a market with good demographic characteristics, Tucker said. Mequon is among the most affluent communities in the metropolitan Milwaukee area.
A 45,000-square-foot Kohl’s Food Emporium is the anchor tenant at The Pavilion, which includes a Blockbuster Video and several regional and local businesses. The shopping center has a 93 percent occupancy rate, Tucker said.
Tucker Properties hopes to change The Pavilion’s tenant mix to include more national businesses, Tucker said. He said the company has many national retail contacts through its other operations.
Tucker Properties, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is the successor to The Tucker Cos., founded in 1976. Its shopping centers feature tenants that sell value-oriented merchandise rather than high-priced luxury items, the company said.
