In a move that will certainly solidify Publix as the dominating force in Florida’s supermarket industry, Publix acquires 2.8M SF of store space

Lakeland, FL-based Publix, Florida’s largest supermarket chain, closed on the purchase of 49 Florida Albertson’s grocery stores. First announced in early June without a price tag, Publix disclosed in a Jun. 28 SEC filing that the portfolio carried an approximate sale price of $500 million.

The seller was private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, which operated the stores under the Florida Division of Albertsons LLC. According to CoStar COMPS, the 49 stores total approximately 2.86 million square feet.

Through the closing of this transaction, Publix acquired 53% of Albertson’s full-format Florida stores, further solidifying the grocer’s existing dominance throughout the state.

Publix said all the Albertson’s stores will be closed for a remodeling period, ranging from one to eighteen months, at which point they will reopen with the Publix brand.

Fifteen of the stores are located in North Florida, 30 in Central Florida and four in South Florida. At least four of the stores are located in Escambia County, a new market for Publix.

The locations of the 49 stores acquired are as follows. For more information on this transaction, see CoStar COMPS ID# 1586304.

• 2770 West Bay Drive, Belleair Bluffs
• 26841 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs
• 4651 Cortez Road, Bradenton
• 127 Cape Coral Parkway, Cape Coral
• 1735 N.E. Pine Island Road, Cape Coral
• 26583 U.S. Highway 19 North, Clearwater
• 1921 N. Belcher Road, Clearwater
• 1295 S. Missouri Avenue, Clearwater
• 10018 Griffin Road, Cooper City
• 2201 University Drive, Coral Springs
• 2100 Saxon Blvd., Deltona
• 16970 San Carlos Blvd., Ft. Myers
• 13401 Summerlin Road, Ft. Myers
• 610 N. Eglin Parkway, Ft. Walton Beach
• 3930 S.W. Archer Road, Gainesville
• 870 Village Oak Lane, Heathrow
• 12101 Little Road, Hudson
• 17400 Alt. A1A, Jupiter
• 1566 Bella Cruz Drive, Lady Lake
• 3825 East Bay Drive, Largo
• 13031 Walsingham Road, Largo
• 2381 State Road 434, Longwood
• 8833 North Tamiami Trail, Naples
• 3350 Tamiami Trail, East, Naples
• 7524 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando
• 440 North Orlando Avenue, Orlando
• 10250 Curry Ford Road, Orlando
• 4950 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast
• 35439 U.S. Highway 19 N., Palm Harbor
• 500 E. Lake Road, Palm Harbor
• 1101 8th Avenue West, Palmetto
• 9005 U.S. Highway 301 North, Parrish
• 5055 North 9th Avenue, Pensacola
• 2180 W. 9 Mile Road, Pensacola
• 9251 University Parkway, Pensacola
• 5998 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
• 4701 Park Blvd., Pinellas Park
• 1181 South University Drive, Plantation
• 4840 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
• 3610 U.S. 27, North, Sebring
• 7880 113th Street, Seminole
• 1075 S. Pasadena Avenue, South Pasadena
• 3700 Fourth Street North, St. Petersburg
• 3030 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg
• 3900 66th Street North, St. Petersburg
• 1925 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee
• 3521 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee
• 8701 West Hillsborough Avenue, Tampa
• 3838 Britton Plaza, Tampa

This article appears in CoStar’s Retail News Roundup: Sept. 21 to 27, 2008, a weekly column covering retail store expansions, closings, bankruptcies, acquisitions/mergers/sales, new retail developments, personnel changes, sustainability, and more.