Phillips Edison Company (PECO) Acquires 244,924-SF Rice Lake Square in Wheaton, Illinois, for $52.8 Million

Phillips Edison Company (PECO) has acquired Rice Lake Square, a 244,924-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Wheaton, Illinois, for $52.8 million, or about $216 per square foot. Core Acquisitions was the seller. Mid-America Real Estate Group announced on Oct. 19, 2026, that its Investment Sales Group arranged the sale.

Rick Drogosz, Principal, Joe Girardi, Principal, and Patrick Corrigan, Senior Associate, of Mid-America Real Estate Corporation's Investment Sales Group served as the exclusive listing brokers on behalf of Core Acquisitions, according to the firm.

Rice Lake Square Property Details

Rice Lake Square, at 1 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton, DuPage County, is a multi-tenant retail center that Mid-America describes as institutional-quality. It is located in one of the more affluent communities in Chicago's western suburbs.

The center is anchored by Pete's Fresh Market, which operates under a long-term lease. Other tenants include PetSmart, Massage Envy, Pure Barre, Xfinity, Potbelly, 7Brew, Taco Bell and others.

The property sits adjacent to the intersection of Butterfield and Naperville Roads, which carries 51,000 vehicles per day. Mid-America described the intersection as a primary thoroughfare for Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville and Downers Grove.

Wheaton Trade Area Demographics

The center is in an infill trade area. Within three miles, there are more than 78,000 residents with average household incomes of $164,400 and median home values of $474,800, according to the broker.

PECO's Acquisition Strategy and Portfolio

The purchase fits Phillips Edison Company's focus on necessity-oriented, grocery-anchored neighborhood centers. Grocery-anchored centers account for 94% of PECO's annual base rent, and centers featuring the No. 1 or No. 2 grocer in their market account for 83%.

As of March 31, 2026, PECO owned 299 properties totaling about 33.7 million square feet across 31 states. In the second quarter, the company acquired six shopping centers and one outparcel for about $152.4 million at its pro rata share, while selling about $64.6 million of assets. It reported an additional $39.7 million of dispositions after quarter-end.

PECO has raised its 2026 acquisition target to $500 million to $600 million and is targeting $100 million to $200 million of dispositions.

PECO Operating Performance

PECO reported the following second-quarter 2026 results:

• Leased portfolio occupancy of 97.3%
• Same-center leased occupancy of 97.5%
• Inline occupancy of 95.5%, a record high
• Anchor occupancy of approximately 98.4%
• Same-center net operating income growth of 3.8% in the quarter
• Nareit FFO per share growth of 8.1% year over year
• Core FFO per share growth of 7.8% year over year

The company's updated full-year outlook implies about 6.3% growth in Nareit FFO per share, 6.2% growth in Core FFO per share and 3.7% same-center NOI growth at the midpoint. PECO also said it retained roughly 90% of tenants in the second quarter, with retention costs of less than $1 per square foot.

Market Context

The Rice Lake Square sale adds to PECO's active capital-recycling program, in which the company is both buying and selling shopping centers in 2026. The Wheaton center joins a portfolio in which grocery-anchored properties generate the large majority of annual base rent.

Sources

• Mid-America Real Estate Group: Mid-America Brokers Rice Lake Square To Phillips Edison Company (PECO)