CenterSquare Investment Management Acquires The Hub at Bexley in Largest Retail Trade in Land O' Lakes History

CenterSquare Investment Management has acquired The Hub at Bexley, a newly constructed open-air retail center in Land O' Lakes, Florida, in a transaction JLL has described as the largest retail trade in the submarket's history. JLL represented the seller, Center Connect Development, in the deal, which closed Aug. 26, 2026.

Property Overview: The Hub at Bexley

The Hub at Bexley encompasses approximately 50,000 square feet of open-air retail space situated on roughly 7.13 acres at 16954 Focus Loop, at the intersection of State Road 54 and Bexley Village Drive in Land O' Lakes, Pasco County. The center was delivered in 2023 by Center Connect Development and was 100% leased at the time of sale, with a weighted average lease term of approximately six years.

The property features a village-style design with a covered event stage, landscaped courtyards and outdoor seating intended to encourage cross-shopping and community engagement. Its tenant mix is concentrated in food and beverage, health and wellness, entertainment and service categories. Named tenants include BellaBrava, Stillwaters Tavern, TREK Bikes, Taco Bus and The Blend Coffee and Cocktails.

The center serves as the commercial anchor for Bexley by Newland Capital Group, a sold-out master-planned community entitled for up to 2,100 residential units. The property fronts State Road 54, with exposure to more than 68,000 vehicles per day. Within a five-mile radius, the average household income exceeds $160,000, and the area's population of more than 87,500 residents is projected to grow approximately 18% through 2030.

Transaction Details: JLL, Jorge Portela and Danny Finkle Lead the Deal

JLL Capital Markets' Sales and Advisory team represented Center Connect Development in the transaction. The team was led by Senior Director Jorge Portela, Executive Managing Director Danny Finkle and Analyst Jacob Wise.

"Center Connect Development created a very unique product, combining the convenience of a strip center with the experiential components of a lifestyle center," Portela said. "The service-oriented tenancy, exceptional demographics and high growth submarket drove strong investor demand for the offering."

The sale price was undisclosed. CenterSquare Investment Management, headquartered in suburban Philadelphia with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Singapore, manages approximately $16 billion in assets under management as of June 2026. The firm focuses on listed and private real estate.

Center Connect Development and the Suburban Retail Model

Center Connect Development, founded in 2019 and based in the Tampa Bay region, developed The Hub at Bexley as part of a broader strategy to bring walkable, community-oriented retail to high-growth suburban markets. The firm's early projects concentrated in Pasco County, which encompasses some of the fastest-growing residential corridors in the Tampa metropolitan statistical area. The Hub at Bexley has been characterized as a hybrid retail format — blending the operational efficiency of a neighborhood strip center with the experiential programming typically associated with lifestyle centers.

The property's positioning within Bexley by Newland, a sold-out master-planned community, provided a built-in and expanding consumer base at the time of sale, a factor JLL cited as central to investor interest in the offering.

Tampa Bay Retail Market Context

The transaction comes against a backdrop of tight retail market conditions across the Tampa Bay area. Metro-wide retail vacancy has hovered in the low-to-mid single digits in recent quarters, with figures ranging from approximately 3.4% to 4.2% depending on the reporting period, placing Tampa among the lower-vacancy retail markets in the United States. Stabilized retail assets in the Tampa market have traded at cap rates generally in the mid-6% range, with pricing around $276 per square foot in late 2025 and into 2026, though the specific financial terms of The Hub at Bexley transaction were undisclosed.

Pasco County, where Land O' Lakes is located, has emerged as one of the more active growth nodes within the Tampa MSA, driven by sustained residential development along the State Road 54 and Suncoast Parkway corridors. The combination of new-home community absorption, above-average household incomes and limited existing retail supply has made the submarket an area of focus for retail investors seeking stabilized, necessity- and experience-driven assets.

About the Firms

JLL Capital Markets is a global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers, with more than 3,000 specialists in offices across nearly 50 countries. JLL (NYSE: JLL) reported annual revenue of $26.1 billion and operates in more than 80 countries with a global workforce of more than 112,000 as of June 30, 2026.

CenterSquare Investment Management was founded in 1987 and manages investments on behalf of institutional and private investors globally, with a focus on listed and private real estate assets.

Center Connect Development was founded in 2019 with a focus on lifestyle retail centers in the Tampa Bay region and is expanding into other rapidly growing areas of Florida and the Southeast.