Single Tenant Wawa | Opening Mid-November 2024!
Wilmington, DE
The Opportunity
- Price: $6,725,000
- Cap Rate: 5.00%
- NOI: $336,250
- Lease Type: NNN Ground Lease
- Building Size: 5,585 SF
- Parcel Size: 1.5 Acres
- Remaining Lease Term: 20 Years
- Options: Six (6), Five (5) Year Options
- Rental Increases: 10% Every Five (5) Years
Forged Real Estate is pleased to exclusively offer the opportunity to acquire the fee simple interest in a single tenant property leased to Wawa, (the “Property”) in Wilmington, the largest and most populated city in Delaware. The newly constructed Wawa currently sits along Naamans Road, a main thoroughfare in the area boasting 30,100 VPD. Wawa is scheduled to open mid November 2024 and will operate on a NNN ground lease, allowing for a hands-off passive form of ownership. The lease also features ten percent rental increases every five years, including in the option periods Wawa is one of the dominant gas station and convenience store tenants in the northeast and is quickly gaining more traction throughout the country. With over 1,000 locations, Wawa is the largest private company in Pennsylvania and 20th largest in the nation according to Forbes (2023).
Wilmington is located within the Philadelphia MSA, the 7th most populated metropolitan area in the country that is home to approximately 6.25 million people. The city also serves as the county seat for New Castle County. The 5-mile area surrounding Wawa boasts excellent demographics with a population of over 154,500 people and over 62,900 households. Additionally, the average household income in that same area is over $128,000. The area is set for more growth with new nearby developments. In October of 2023 construction of a $60 million distribution center consisting of 358,000 square feet of industrial space was completed along Naamans Road (30,100 VPD), east of Wawa. This is the first stage of the development known as First State Crossing which will likely bring over 5,000 jobs to the area.
Along Naamans Road (30,100) there are several retailers that are the top performers within their respective chains. The ACME Market is in the top 82nd percentile of locations within their chain in the U.S. and the top 73rd percentile of their chain in Delaware. Additionally, The Home Depot ranks in the top 88th percentile and the Walgreens ranks in the top 69th percentile of their respective chains in Delaware, demonstrating the strength of the retail (Placer.ai).
Investment Highlights:
Tenant
Ownership: PRIVATE
Credit Rating: BBB (Fitch Shadow)
Headquarters: Wawa, PA
#of Locations: 1,000+
Wawa was founded in 1803 by Grahame Wood mainly as a dairy farm and it was not until 1964 that the company opened its convenience store/gas station chain and headquartered in Wawa, Pennsylvania. Wawa is a privately held company and in April of 2023 opened their 1,000th location as the company continues to expand. It is the largest private company in Pennsylvania and 20th largest in the nation according to Forbes (2023).
The company’s namesake is a Native American word for the Canada Goose in flight, which is seen in the company’s logo. A leader in the convenience store industry, Wawa is an everyday stop for fresh, built-to-order food, beverages, coffee, and fuel. They put an emphasis on the convenience aspect by providing self-serve coffee stations as well as touch screen food and beverage ordering. Most locations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
They currently have locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington D.C. but are quickly expanding. Forbes reports that Wawa has revenues of approximately $18.9 billion in their most recent fiscal year (2023), which outranks its Pennsylvania rival convenience store, Sheetz. Forbes also ranks Wawa at 12th on their Halo 100 list for 2022. The Halo 100 highlights excellence in delivering positive customer experiences throughout the country. Wawa also ranked 16th in Forbes Customer Experience – All Stars list for 2024. The Customer Experience All Star list is an annual index of the brands that leave consumers most satisfied with the product, service, and treatment of customers.
