Publix has paid $26 million to buy The Shoppes at Verdana Village, a shopping center it anchors in Estero. The purchase adds the property and two developed outparcels to the grocer’s Southwest Florida holdings, positioning the company to own a prominent site along the fast-growing Corkscrew Road corridor rather than lease it.
Key takeaways
- Publix bought The Shoppes at Verdana Village for $26 million; the transaction was recorded Oct. 29.
- The property includes a 78,000-square-foot shopping center and two outparcels occupied by Fifth Third Bank and Heartland Dental.
- The purchase sits within a residential growth corridor that includes the developing Verdana Village community and the planned Kingston development.
- The deal continues Publix’s wider strategy of acquiring shopping centers where it is already an anchor tenant.
A strategic site on Corkscrew Road
The shopping center is at the southeast corner of Verdana Village Boulevard and Corkscrew Road, about six miles east of Interstate 75. The sale covered approximately 1.45 acres at the entrance to Verdana Village, a master-planned community under development with plans for about 2,400 single-family homes and villas across roughly 2,100 acres.
Nearby, the planned Kingston community is approved for as many as 10,000 homes on approximately 7,600 acres along Corkscrew Road and State Road 82. The area’s residential expansion is making the eastern Lee County corridor an increasingly significant location for retail businesses.
Shopping center and tenants
Built by WMG Development, The Shoppes at Verdana Village opened in 2024. Its tenants include Dunkin’, The Nail Spa Estero, New York Pizza & Pasta and The UPS Store. The two developed outparcels house a Fifth Third Bank branch and a Heartland Dental location.
The deed transferred the property from The Shoppes at Verdana Village LLC, a company tied to Cameratta Companies, to Real Sub LLC, a Publix subsidiary based in Lakeland. The $26 million purchase price was confirmed through documentary stamp taxes paid on the transaction.
Part of a broader ownership strategy
Publix has increasingly purchased retail centers where it previously operated as a tenant. Owning a center can give the grocer more direct control over lease renewals, development decisions and the businesses that occupy neighboring spaces. Commercial real estate analyst Paige Rausch described the Estero purchase as part of that broader pattern.
The acquisition follows Publix’s purchase of Daniels Crossing in Fort Myers for more than $36 million in May. Public-record research cited in the report found that the company held roughly 45 properties in Southwest Florida, including shopping centers and other parcels. The grocer also has made recent acquisitions elsewhere in Florida and Georgia.
Publix reported $62.7 billion in retail sales for 2025 and operates more than 1,400 stores. The Estero purchase expands its property portfolio in a region where substantial housing growth could bring more customers and strengthen demand for retail services.