Wawa Sells New Jersey Store for $6.5 Million

A year-old New Jersey super Wawa location has been sold to an undisclosed buyer as a net lease for $6.5 million.

If you are surprised to hear that Wawa, a privately owned company is selling a store, let's take a closer look at what happened.

New Jersey Wawa Property Sold For $6.5 Million

A private investor has acquired the year-old, net-leased Wawa property in Lakehurst, NJ for $6.5 million, brokers with Marcus & Millichap announced.

The property at 604 Pine St. has 16 fuel pumps and a modern Wawa store.

So, Wawa sold these investors this entire property for $6.5 million, but Wawa will continue to operate and maintain the store as a tenant for the next 20 years.

The Wawa will operate on a 20-year lease, in a location near Route 70 with daily traffic counts reaching nearly 22,000 vehicles and nearby retailers including ShopRite, Lowe’s, and Dollar Tree.

The store will make money from those passing customers and Wawa will pay their lease to the investors who now own the property.

Wawas Are Hot Net Lease Properties

Investors say that Wawa convenience stores are one of the hottest sought-after net lease investment properties in the market today.

Wawa’s stores typically operate under triple net or NNN ground leases, which are attractive to investors due to the additional investment security of a ground lease.

Why? It’s simple: They hold the tenant -- Wawa in this case-- accountable for paying operating expenses and costs related to the property, which can include insurance premiums, property taxes, and structural maintenance or repair costs.

Wawa picks the high-traffic location, builds and maintains the store, and pays the taxes, maintenance, insurance, repairs, and utilities for 20 years in this case.

Wawa makes a significant capital investment property, which at the end of the lease will become the property of the ground lease owner.

The Agreement Works Well for Wawa

Wawa does very well in these net lease arrangements, too. They sold this store for $6.5 million, after all.

These net-ground lease agreements have allowed Wawa to expand across the country.

The company currently ranks at number 24 on Forbes’ list of the largest privately held American companies, and it is the largest company overall in Pennsylvania.

It's estimated that Wawa makes about $35 million per day in revenue.

Wawa's numbers are booming. The deal works for the investors and it works for Wawa. Everyone makes money and everyone is happy.