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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Westview Shoppes, a distressed 60,732-square foot Office Depot-anchored shopping center in Coral Springs, has traded for $9.6 million. The sales price equals $160 per square foot.

Drew Kristol and Kirk Olson, both vice presidents of investment, along with senior associate Greg Zeifman, all in Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office, represented the seller, Westview Shoppes Fla. Ken Hoff, a senior associate in the firm’s Manhattan office, also provided representation. The buyer was a private investor based in North Miami Beach.

“The prior owner refinanced the retail asset at the peak of the market so they had way more debt than the property could support,” Olson tells GlobeSt.com. “When a tenant left the owner couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage so it ended up in distress. The receiver took over and added some occupancy to the property. By the time we sold Westview Shoppes, it was about 82% occupied.”

Located at 9525 Westview Dr. at the corner of North University Drive, the retail property has a traffic count of 40,000 cars per day and a parking ratio of about six spaces per 1,000 rentable square feet. Bordering the center to the north is the Sawgrass Expressway, a major roadway that connects Coral Springs with Florida’s Turnpike and Deerfield Beach to the east, as well as the Sawgrass Mills Mall and southern Broward County to the south. Westview Shoppes is adjacent to a large shopping center anchored by Regal Cinemas, with another large center on the south side of Westview Drive anchored by Target.

“The lender held the mortgage and offered very favorable financing terms, which helped to make the property more marketable,” says Olson, noting that M&M fielded 14 offers on the retail property. “At first there was some concern about the rental rates for the larger spaces in the center, but the trend that we are seeing is less vacancy for mid- to large-size boxes in strong submarkets such as Coral Springs. This trend should help rental rates recover to more healthy levels within the next few years.”

Built in 1999, Westview Shoppes features two retail plazas. The larger plaza contains Office Depot, a Youfit Health Club, and Mega Liquors, while the smaller outparcel plaza includes Dunkin’ Donuts, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, and a dry cleaning establishment.