Publix has been buying up parts of Collier and Lee County in order to grow its ownership footprint.
Just before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a Southwest Florida shopping center was among the trophies the grocery giant bagged.
Where did Publix make its latest Southwest Florida investment?
Publix purchased the 110,780 square feet that make up Daniels Crossing off Six-Mile Cypress north of the Minnesota Twins spring training complex, according to broker JLL Capital Markets.
Traffic counts show the Daniels Parkway center has more than 100,000 vehicles passing through the heavy-duty intersection, making it a lucrative spot to own, said JLL’s Danny Finkle, who helped put the transaction together that public records show was valued at more than $36 million.
The ‘rebuilt Publix prototype store’ made deal more ‘attractive’
With last year’s redeveloped Publix upgrade, the center at 100% leased includes Quest Diagnostics, Hope Chest Hospice, Millennium Physicians Group and the UPS Store, Finkle said.
“The property’s dominant position in one of Florida’s fastest-growing markets, combined with the newly rebuilt Publix prototype store, made it an attractive acquisition,” he said. “The sale of Daniels Crossing demonstrates continued strong investor demand for grocery-anchored retail assets with institutional-quality anchor tenants.”
Publix is creating its own ‘investor demand’ as important anchor
And it’s Publix itself as the one fitting the bill on two levels in the form of “investor demand” and that high-grade “anchor tenant.”
The gobbling up of the Southwest Florida destination was among the dealings the Lakeland-based chain has had in recent days including across the way in Palm Beach County.
What else did Publix buy up in Southwest Florida this year?
Publix has hauled in a cart-full so far this year in Florida and the Southeast including Fort Myers Southpointe Commons at 5998 South Pointe Blvd., just as 2026 emerged in January.
In Southwest Florida, it now has at least 45 or so pieces of property including shopping centers, right-of-way and other parcels, according to In the Know research of public records.
Where are some of the 45 parcels Publix gobbled up in SWFL?
Among other Southwest Florida shopping center land it has accumulated at least parts of includes, as officially named and recorded in public documents and other records:
What’s a way Publix makes its play for Naples, Lee County land?
We found that quite a few of the often quietly made unannounced deals tend to go through LLCs with various P.O. Box addresses.
Our research of federal data including at the Securities and Exchange Commission uncovered at least nine LLCs and subsidiaries for Publix.
‘There’s just no better investment than investing in ourselves’
Publix doesn’t talk much publicly about the purchases. It issued a two-sentence statement Wednesday morning in response to In the Know questions: “As you can imagine, there are a number of variables and evaluations utilized in making a decision on investing in real estate and building a facility. These evaluations are complex and proprietary.”
Clearly, though, the grocer is following a motto it previously shared with us: “There’s just no better investment than investing in ourselves.”
‘Publix is really a real estate company that sells groceries’
But the ramifications go well beyond that for the company that employs more than 260,000 employees including for its real estate division, its leasing team, its property management crew, its architectural and engineering services, its construction department and its manufacturing/supply purchasing unit.
“Publix is really a real estate company that sells groceries,” said Suzanne Hollander, a Florida International University business school professor and lawyer who writes the Professor Real Estate blog and frequently comments on her findings as part of studying the chain and the industry in the U.S. and Latin America.
How does owning land give Publix some advantages in SWFL?
Hollander said buying commercial plazas is part of Publix’s real estate strategy that allows it to operate its stores rent-free and gives it the power to select its surrounding tenants, all while receiving rent from their leases.
And there are other advantages, according to University of Miami law school research that referred to the Publix activity as “a commercial real estate shopping spree.”
‘Publix quickly became major force in commercial real estate’
“What people do not know is that Publix has quickly become a major force in the commercial real estate industry,” the university report said. “Why is Publix acquiring so much real estate? The answer to that question is not abundantly clear because Publix’s real estate strategy is quite secretive. The company generally avoids commenting on why it is buying many of the shopping centers it anchors.”
The 2017 university findings pointed to tax savings that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars: “By owning its properties, Publix can take advantage of the many valuable tax deductions that the Internal Revenue Code grants landlords.
Property owners can deduct from their taxable income various expenses related to their properties, most notably interest, depreciation, maintenance and insurance premiums. (From) a tax perspective, it makes perfect financial sense for Publix to acquire the shopping centers.”
What are the benefits for Publix being ‘an unorthodox investor?’
The UM business law review also concurred on Hollander’s take for future potential tenants, like the unlikely, but not impossible event of Publix potentially not allowing a sandwich shop to move in to compete with its own “treasured” subs.
And as “an unorthodox investor,” it said Publix may have an advantage over other buyers since it may be willing to pay more since it’s likely motivated by tax benefits and shopping center control more than return on investment.
When did Publix ramp up its real estate investments?
Industry publication Grocery Dive noted that Publix buys numerous stores without borrowing, and by purchasing instead of renting can save on the sales tax tenants often pay. So as an example, $500,000 annual rent could result in $30,000 or more in sales tax.
The more intense buying began earlier in the century while the country and the real estate industry were in the depths of the Great Recession, according to the magazine and the university’s info.
How much did grocery giant Publix make in retail sales in 2025?
The company’s ownership of its stores in 2007 was 11.2%, according to Grocery Dive.
Today, Publix, which reported $62.7 billion in 2025 retail sales. has more than 1,400 stores. Company data shows it currently controls at least 564 sites and shopping centers.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Publix expands portfolio – Buying in Collier, Lee, Marco, South Naples
Reporting by Phil Fernandez, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
