CPA®:17, a public non-traded REIT affiliate of W.P. Carey & Co. LLC, completed its first Spanish sale-leaseback transaction in acquiring a portfolio of 13 retail facilities from Spanish supermarket operator Eroski Sociedad Cooperativa for approximately $51 million.
Established in 1969, Eroski is the third largest food and consumables retailer in Spain. Eroski operates more than 100 hypermarkets and 1,200 supermarkets, franchises over 500 Aliprox fast-food outlets, and manages gas stations, drugstores and travel agencies.
“The Eroski acquisition represents an opportunity to enter the Spanish market by investing in well-located retail locations leased to an established brand name retailer,” W. P. Carey Executive Director Jeffrey Lefleur sait in a statement. “In addition, the acquisition is consistent with W. P. Carey's investment strategy of purchasing mission critical assets that also provide industry and geographical diversification to our investment portfolio.”
Rupert Lea and Yola Camacho from Cushman & Wakefield Spain represented Eroski.
Colonial Properties Trust Sells Retail Asset
Colonial Properties Trust sold the 286,000-square-foot Colonial Promenade in Winter Haven, Fla., for $20.7 million to an undisclosed buyer.
The 23-year-old property was unencumbered and had an occupancy rate of 93.2 percent as of Sept. 30. The proceeds from the transaction were used to reduce the Coloinal’s outstanding balance on its unsecured line of credit.
“Simplifying the business has been a priority for us all year,” Colonial Chairman and CEO Thomas H. Lowder said in a statement. “This transaction, together with the recently announced exits of the OZ/CLP joint venture, the DRA/CRT joint venture and the Mansell joint venture, have greatly reduced the number of joint venture-owned commercial assets in our portfolio.”
In a separate announcement, Dockerty Romer & Co. said it lined up financing for the undisclosed buyer. Dockerty’s Chris Caveglia arranged approximately $15 million in acquisition financing. Dockerty arranged nonrecourse financing through a national lender with a five-year term, a 70-percent loan-to-value ratio and a 30-year amortization schedule at an undisclosed fixed rate.
Hanley Negotiates Sales of Four Properties
Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors negotiated the sales of three multi-tenant retail properties and one ground lease for a single-tenant building currently occupied by Forever 21.
Edward B. Hanley and Jeremy S. McChesney represented Westwood Financial in the sale of the 7,966-square-foot Cypress Plaza in Cypress, Calif., for $2.3 million, a price of $286 per square foot. The property was built in 1986, and was 71 percent occupied at the time of sale. The buyer was a private investor, represented by YK L.P.
Hanley also represented Westwood Financial in the sale of a 9,518-square-foot strip center in North Hollywood to Tong Whee Chun, who was represented by Jay Kim of ERA New Star Realty & Investment. The property traded for $3.8 million, representing a 7.45 percent cap rate and $396 per square foot. The center is anchored by 7-Eleven and features five local and regional tenants. The property was built in 1983, and was 84 percent occupied at the time of sale.
In a third deal, Hanley’s Kevin T. Fryman and Eric P. Wohl represented the buyer and seller in the $2.1 million sale of the 12,155-square-foot Bellflower Plaza strip center in Bellflower, Calif. The purchase price represented a 6.63 percent cap rate. The buyer and seller are both private investors from Los Angeles. The project was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale.
Lastly, Hanley’s Carlos J. Lopez represented Calexico Retail Associates LLC in the $5.2 million sale of a fee-simple ownership of land leased to a single-tenant building occupied by Forever 21 in Calexico, Calif. The buyer, John Choi, purchased the property to fulfill a 1031 exchange requirement. Choi was represented by Bryan Sung from Ace Realty.
Forever 21 occupies a 78,780-square-foot building on a 5.8-acre parcel of land. The building is leased and owned by Macerich Crossroads Plaza Holdings LLC and is operated by Macerich Co..
Colliers International Directs Several Retail Deals
Colliers International directed the sale of an 11,066-square-foot retail building in Gardendale, Ala., to Ryan’s Morristown LLC for $1.6 million. The building is occupied by Ryan’s Grill Buffet & Bakery and is situated on a 157,663-square-foot lot adjacent to a Walmart Super Center.
The buyer was able to secure financing through Community Trust Bank with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. Ian Schroeder and Maurice Nieman, vice presidents in Colliers International’s Irvine, Calif. office, represented both the buyer and the seller, an undisclosed institutional hedge fund, in the transaction.
Colliers International also directed the sale of two buildings totaling 73,678 square feet located in Los Angeles County on behalf of Bechler Corp.. In the first transaction, Bechler sold a 7,366-square-foot restaurant located in Torrance, Calif. to The Harold B. Rothman Living Trust for $2.8 million. The building is leased and operated by Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery.
Patrick Remolacio, managing director, and Bob Hoyt, senior vice president, both in Colliers’ Irvine office, along with Bret Hardy, managing director in Colliers’ Los Angeles office, represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was represented by Joe Linkogle of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investors Services.
The second transaction involved a 66,312-square-foot industrial building in Cerritos, Calif., sold to the existing tenant, Uquality Automotive Parts Corp., for an undisclosed amount.
Next Page: More Deals
FirstService Brokers $1,428-Per-Square-Foot Deal
FirstService Williams negotiated the $8 million sale of a prime retail property at 75 Greenwich Avenue in downtown Greenwich, Conn. The property traded for $1,428 per square foot, a new record for the Greenwich commercial property market.
Stephen Westerberg, senior managing director at FirstService Williams’ Stamford office, exclusively represented the seller, Merof LLC. The buyer, 75 Greenwich Avenue LLC, did not use a broker. The property is fully leased to cosmetics retailer Sephora USA, which is owned by a division of LVMH.
“While we have seen a slight correction in pricing since the economic downturn began, the severity for premium properties has been overstated by many observers,” said Westerberg in a statement. “For owners, this continues to be a great time to sell—and for investors, this is an opportunistic time to buy.”
Grubb& Ellis|BRE Commercial Announces Four Retail Deals
Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial, LLC announced the sale of four retail centers, three in Phoenix and one in Gilbert, Ariz. Financial Trading and Transacting Corp., N.V. purchased three retail centers totaling 362,965 square feet. The company purchased the three centers for $38.2 million. In a separate deal, KA Phoenix LLC purchased Gilbert Fiesta for $10.5 million from Gilbert Associates LLC.
Financial Trading purchased the three centers, surrounding Paradise Valley Mall, from companies formed by Macerich. It purchased the 201,800-square-foot Village Fair North for $20.6 million, the 138,788-square-foot Village Square II for $14.5 million and the 22,377-square-foot Village Square I for $3.1 million. The three centers were a combined 95 percent leased at the time of sale.
KA Phoenix purchased the 44,261-square-foot Gilbert property from Gilbert Associates LLC.
Ryan Schubert and Michael Hackett of Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial represented Financial Trading and Transacting Corp., N.V., in the Phoenix transactions and Gilbert Associates in the Gilbert transaction.
HFF secures $18.9M Refinancing for N.J. Property
The New Jersey office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. (HFF) secured an $18.9 million refinancing for the 221,737-square-foot Golden Acres Shopping Center in South Plainfield, N.J.
HFF director John Taylor and associate director Michael Lachs worked exclusively on behalf of the owner, Plainfield Associates, an affiliate of Polimeni International LLC, to secure the five-year, 6.25 percent fixed-rate loan with Investors Savings Bank. Loan proceeds are being used to retire the existing debt, add decorative retaining walls and repave the parking lot.
The property is currently 87 percent leased to tenants including Pathmark, Big Lots, Apogee Retail and Wendy’s.
Other Notable Deals
The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. completed the acquisition of the 82,292-square-foot Merrimack Village Center in Merrimack, N.H., on behalf of one of firm’s non-traded REITs, Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust Inc. The center is anchored by a Shaw’s Grocery Store.
RealtyLink LLC announced the sale of a 8,142-square-foot Bridgestone in Myrtle Beach, S.C. RealtyLink’s Tyson Glasser represented the seller in the $2.2 million deal that closed escrow on December 16. Bridgestone is on a 15-year corporate net lease with 10 percnet rent bumps every five years and four options. The buyer was a private investment group that obtained a loan equal to approximately 80 percent of the price.
(To have your deals included in our weekly roundup, please email releases to David Bodamer or Elaine Misonzhnik.)