Eastbank Shopping Center

Gonzales, Louisiana

Eastbank Shopping Center was acquired in 2004 for $2,750,00 and an occupancy of 70%. With roughly $1,000,000 in rehab costs, the property was brought up to 100% occupancy, which include a new lease to Fred’s Pharmacy for 32,000 sf. Three outparcels were also created and and sold for $1,500,000. In 2015, this property was sold to a second investment group ALSO controlled by one of JRE Private Equity Group’s principals, Donnie Jarreau, for $5,750,000 – a net profit of over $2,000,000.

In a completely unforeseen turn of events, this property lost over 50% of its tenants due to bankruptcy and relocation. Dollar General (20,000 sf), Anytime Fitness (10,000 sf), and a local Mexican restaurant (7,500 sf) were performing so well at this location that they ALL vacated, opening free-standing, new-construction locations within 1/2 mile of the property. At the same time, Fred’s Pharmacy (with over 500 stores at the time) filed bankruptcy, vacating their 32,000 sf space.

In the last 3 years, JRE has backfilled ALL of this space, bringing the center not only to 100% occupancy, but also secured an ADDITIONAL build-to-suit contract with Citi-Trends! Distributions have resumed at this property, and current property value is approximately $11,000,000, with significantly higher NOI than it had when purchased.

This case study is to illustrate that not all real estate investments go “as planned,” but JRE has continually demonstrated that it can actively manage properties during the “best of times,” but also in the “worst of times.”