Real estate firm buys DCs from grocers

Real estate firm buys DCs from grocers    Preferred Real Estate Investments Inc., Conshohocken, Pa., has purchased two distribution centers from Royal Ahold subsidiaries Stop & Shop Supermarket and Giant Food for $90 million, the grocery chains said last week.
   Giant announced plans last year to vacate its long-time warehouse and office in Landover, Md., and has gradually shifted operations to another facility. Stop & Shop is leaving its distribution center in North Haven, Conn., and transferring operations to its DC in Freetown, Mass. and to a third-party supplier.
   Preferred officials told the Washington Post that they plan to renovate some of the Giant facility and lease it to firms looking for less expensive office space or distribution sites close to Washington, D.C.
   Stop and Shop operates 378 stores in the Northeast, and there are 187 Giant stores in the mid-Atlantic region. Both companies were bought several years ago by Dutch grocery giant Royal Ahold.