A German Family Office, represented by International Capital, purchased an Aldi ground lease in Phenix City, Alabama in June 2020.

The lease for the approx. 2-acre site improved with a 21,000 SF grocery store started in November 2019 and has an initial term of 20 years (plus four 5-year options). The store’s construction was finalized in the spring of 2020. The store opened in May. The property lies on US Highway 280, one of the major traffic arteries and retail corridors from the west into Columbus, Georgia. Aldi is the anchor tenant of the Phenix City Marketplace retail development which features Culver’s, McDonald’s, Verizon, and a Chick-fil-A with four parcels still to be developed. National retailers in the immediate surrounding area along Hwy 280 include Walmart, Home Depot, and Tractor Supply.

Phenix City, located on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee River, is a suburb of Columbus, Georgia, which is the 3rd largest city in Georgia with more than 300,000 inhabitants.

Fort Benning, the 5th largest US Army Base, which supports more than 120,000 troops and civilians, is located 25 minutes to the south of the property.
This purchase represents the third Aldi acquisition in a twelve-month period for the international client. International Capital serves the client as real estate advisor in their strategy to build a multi-property ground lease portfolio of well-located and attractive properties in the US.
Although contract negotiations and due diligence was performed during the outbreak of COVID-19, no major delays hampered the closing of the property. The client had to forego a personal site visit because of travel restrictions but was able to gain good insights of the construction progress and the overall location of the property and its surroundings via drone videos and pictures.

Martina Crevecoeur, CCIM, International Capital’s Senior Vice President of Acquisitions/Dispositions represented the Family Office in the transaction.