Investors continue to snap up retail properties with upside potential.

In Los Angeles, a private investor sold a 28,497-square-foot lot at the corner of La Cienega and South San Vicente Boulevard to Oklahoma Rock Holdings and The Abraham Cos. The buyers plan to tear down a 17,228-square-foot retail center and build a luxury mixed-use development with 100 multifamily units and ground-level retail and restaurant space. Kidder Mathews represented the seller.

Meanwhile, in Caguas, Puerto Rico, BH Properties acquired the 283,454-square-foot Plaza Centro I, pictured at top, out of foreclosure. The unanchored, open-air center was built in 1987 as the first phase of the nearly 1 million-square-foot Plaza Centro retail complex. Renovated in 2017, it is 50% occupied by 29 tenants. Sam’s, PetSmart, JCPenney, OfficeMax and Costco anchor the adjacent, enclosed second phase, which was not part of the deal. Plaza Centro I went into receivership in 2020 and into foreclosure in 2021 as vacancies grew. BH Properties won the bank note in an online auction. “This was an opportunity to acquire a well-located retail asset with tremendous upside,” said BH Properties regional asset manager Armando Bustillo. “Until the pandemic, Plaza Centro I was a popular retail center benefiting from visibility along one of the area’s major thoroughfares. At our cost basis, we can offer attractive lease terms to attract new tenants and reinvigorate the center.”

And in High Point, North Carolina, Kimbrell’s Investment Co., operator of Kimbrell’s Home Furnishings, acquired the vacant, 24,000-square-foot former Earth Fare at Palladium Shopping Center for $4.35 million. The seller, Palladium Development V LLC, is managed by Blue Ridge Cos. Collett Capital. The store opened in 2019, and the retailer shed the lease in February 2020 when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

10 Additional Compelling Deals

San Bernardino, California: The 55,810-square-foot World Plaza sold for $10 million. Hanley Investment Group represented the seller, private REIT Presidio Property Trust. Commercial Retail Associates represented the buyer, a private investor based in the Los Angeles area. The fully leased property was remodeled in 2018 to accommodate a new, 36,000-square-foot Chuze Fitness. Other tenants include a bank, civic office, day care, dental practice and pharmacy.

Lake Mary, Florida: Lake Mary Pointe, a 51,052-square-foot shopping center anchored by Publix in the Orlando suburbs, sold for $8.7 million. JLL Capital Markets marketed the property on behalf of HS Capital Fund. The buyer was Tricon Development of Brevard. Built in 1999, Lake Mary Pointe last year underwent roof replacement, painting, parking lot improvements and landscaping upgrades. The center is 98% leased to medical, service and restaurant tenants.

Navarre, Florida: Branch Properties acquired Wynnehaven Plaza from MAB American Management. The center is slated to deliver this year. The 10-acre development will include a 48,387-square-foot Publix, 9,750 square feet of inline retail and a 4,800-square-foot freestanding pad.

Bolingbrook, Illinois: M & J Wilkow and Bixby Bridge Capital acquired The Promenade Bolingbrook, a 779,000-square-foot lifestyle center. Bass Pro Shops and Macy’s anchor the open-air property. The Promenade marks the second acquisition by M & J Wilkow and Bixby Bridge Capital, which also co-own an outlet center in Hawaii.

Wilmette, Illinois: WS Development and CrossHarbor Capital Partners purchased the 343,000-square-foot Edens Plaza from fund manager Newport Capital Partners. The property, on Chicago’s North Shore, features local tenants, healthcare facilities, a grocery store and fast-casual dining. It also will house a 152,000-square-foot store Wayfair. The online home furnishings chain will open in mid-2023 in the center’s former Carson Pirie Scott. Mid-America represented WS Development.

Newington, New Hampshire: The Crossings, a 509,749-square-foot center anchored by Trader Joe’s and Aldi, sold for $104 million to RPT. JLL Capital Markets advised the seller. The Crossings is 95% leased to Best Buy, Five Below, Kohl’s, Michaels, Old Navy, Regal and Ulta Beauty.

Cincinnati, Ohio: The 175,945-square-foot Ridgewater Plaza sold for $10.2 million. The 28-acre property is 92% occupied by such tenants as American Freight and NAPA auto parts. The center also includes a Lowe’s that was not a part of the sale. SRS Real Estate Partners Investment Properties Group represented the seller, Frayer Enterprises, as well as the buyer, an Ohio-based, private real estate investment firm.

Austin, Texas: A 13,833-square-foot, single-tenant store triple-net leased to Walgreens sold to Sikka Investments at a 3.69% cap rate, according to JLL, which marketed the property on behalf of Swanson Development Co.

Dallas: Charter Holdings and DuWest acquired Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm, a 458,091-square-foot, grocery-anchored, open-air retail and office property, which is part of the 1.1 million-square-foot Watters Creek development. JLL Capital Markets marketed the property on behalf of PCCP and Trademark and secured a five-year, floating-rate, nonrecourse acquisition loan with WaFd Bank and Texas Capital Bank. Completed in 2008, the center is 87% leased to such tenants as Anthropologie, Michaels, P.F. Chang’s, The Cheesecake Factory and Victoria’s Secret. Three of the 20 buildings contain 98,209 square feet of office with tenants like Regus, Mattison Avenue Salon Suites & Spa and Texas Nurse Practitioners. Additionally, 1.75 acres could accommodate future development.

Houston: First National Realty Partners acquired its first property in Texas. The 383,000-square-foot center Champions Village is anchored by a Randalls grocery store, T.J.Maxx, Barnes & Noble and Kirkland’s. The seller was New Market, a subsidiary of Preferred Apartment Communities.