Norfolk’s JANAF Shopping Yard may be seeing some new retailers and development in the coming years thanks to a new owner, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc.
The Virginia Beach-based publicly traded company announced its acquisition of the 92-acre property Jan. 22 — an $85.65 million deal that lasted 14 months under contract with 15 amendments to it.
Wheeler closed on the sale Jan. 18. It bought the center from Ann Arbor, Michigan-based The McKinley Companies, which is trying to exit the retail real estate industry.
Wheeler CEO Jon Wheeler said the purchase was strategic in giving the company a closer asset — just nine miles down the road. Before the purchase, most of the company’s assets were in South Carolina.
