EL CAJON, CA—Westwood Financial Corp., a national owner-operator of shopping centers, has leased 1,629 square feet of retail space to the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant chain in Rancho San Diego Town & Country Center for a term of 120 months. Scheduled to open this August, this is Westwood’s seventh lease with the national restaurant chain. Other locations include leases in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois and Texas. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
“Our retail portfolio consists of properties that are well located and convenient to meet the daily needs of the local communities they serve,” said Westwood Financial Corp.’s Vice President / Asset Manager – Western Region Katrina Nadres-Hurtado. “Chipotle has been an excellent match for our centers because they are a high quality operator that provides an exceptional, consistent product in a quick and convenient setting. They are a strong traffic draw, and their presence reinforces the essential role that these properties serve within their communities.”
Located at 12098 Fury Lane, the 10,309-square-foot outparcel to the Rancho San Diego Town & Country Center at the northeast corner of Fury Lane and Jamacha Road, is a primary retail destination serving a densely populated surrounding area in southeast San Diego County.
The fully leased center was acquired by Westwood Financial Corp. in 2009 after Hollywood Video vacated its 7,000 square foot store. The building was subsequently remodeled and is now fully occupied by Jamba Juice, Panda Express, Sports Clips and Union Bank. The property is adjacent to other national retailers such as Ralph’s, Chase Bank, McDonald’s and Denny’s.
WFC currently owns 23 shopping centers in the Southern California market totaling over 1 million square feet of retail space, and 115 properties in 26 major metropolitan areas nationwide. The Rancho San Diego property is one example of over 20 small to mid-sized, distressed retail properties that WFC has acquired and successfully repositioned over the past four years.
Chipotle Mexican Grill was represented by Jon Horning or Flocke & Avoyer and the landlord Fury & Jamacha LLC was represented by Joel Wilson of CB Richard Ellis.