A Publix subsidiary bought The Shoppes at Quail Roost in South Dade for $23.65 million in October, giving the grocer ownership of a shopping center anchored by its supermarket.

The Lakeland-based supermarket chain bought The Shoppes at Quail Roost at 20201 SW 127th Ave., northwest of Southland Mall, as first reported by The Real Deal. A Publix subsidiary handled the purchase.

The deal was one of two Miami-Dade shopping center acquisitions Publix made in October, totaling $107 million, according to the Miami Herald. The other was Airpark Plaza near Miami International Airport, which sold for $83.3 million. That sale was the largest suburban Publix-anchored shopping center transaction in Miami-Dade in nearly two decades, according to JLL Capital Markets, which brokered the deal.

Both centers were fully leased at the time of sale. The seller in both cases was First Washington Realty, a Bethesda, Maryland-based shopping center operator that had owned the properties since 2008.

The Shoppes at Quail Roost has about 85,000 square feet of retail space. Tenants include a community medical center, Great Wall of China restaurant and Gentlemen's Quarters barbershop, the Miami Herald reported.

The acquisitions reflect a broader shift by Publix from tenant to landlord. Jorge Portela, senior director at JLL Capital Markets, told the Miami Herald that ownership lets Publix avoid lease-renewal negotiations and potential rent increases while controlling which businesses operate near its stores.

"More retailers are electing to own their own real estate and Publix is no exception," Portela told the Miami Herald.

Portela told The Real Deal the grocer has an estimated $15 billion in cash to deploy. The company has been paying cash for its acquisitions, taking on no debt.

Publix has not commented publicly on its acquisition strategy. The Miami Herald reported that a Publix spokesperson earlier this year declined to discuss the company's "real estate strategy." The Real Deal reported that Publix did not respond to a request for comment on the purchases.

Amrit Chase, senior vice president of investments at First Washington Realty, told The Real Deal the seller saw the timing as right because the shopping centers had reached peak performance.

JLL's Miami team recently closed four other Publix-anchored shopping center sales across Florida totaling $242.5 million. Publix has also acquired plazas in Kendall, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and other Florida markets. Across the tri-county area, Publix owns more than 170 parcels with a combined just value exceeding $2.2 billion, according to The Real Deal's data analysis. In Miami-Dade, Palmetto Bay leads all incorporated municipalities with eight Publix-owned parcels.