Ethan Christopher LLC of Encino, CA, which picked up three other plazas in the Valley within the last year, beat out several other prospective buyers to walk off with the offering at $1.5 million below the original $11-million asking price. Cam Stanton of CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Phoenix office, who represented both buyer and seller, Kansas City Life Insurance Co., says the deal was complicated by the need to reposition several tenants in the complex at Main and Recker roads.

"Our goal was to stabilize the asset by moving Walgreens from their inline space to a corner location. That involved buying McDonald's out of their lease and putting in a sublease for Walgreens," says Stanton, noting negotiations also included a lease buyout for Office Depot and renovations to a Safeway grocery store. The complex juggling left the new owners with about 40,000 sf of vacant space for a major tenant and about 8,000 sf for smaller businesses, leaving the plaza about 25% vacant, Stanton says. Along with Safeway and Walgreens, the remaining tenants include a JoAnn Fabric Store and Bealls Outlet.

The latest deal pushes Ethan Christopher's Arizona portfolio to 366,576 sf, all acquired in the past year. In October 2003, the investment group paid $11.2 million to Covington Asset Management of Scottdale for a 105,389-sf, Bashas-anchored plaza at the intersection of 7th Street and Union Hills Drive in North Phoenix. The partnership also purchased the Grandview Shopping Center, a 90,849-sf plaza at 5802 W. Camelback Rd. and the 91,573-sf Cactus Crossing center at 67th Avenue and Cactus Road, both in Glendale. The investment group also owns several medical buildings in Southern California.