SCOTTSDALE, AZ-As part of its aggressive efforts to acquire retail assets in the Valley, GDA Real Estate Services Inc. has paid $19.2 million for Zocallo Furniture Plaza, a two-building, 51,195-sf shopping center in the heart of the North Scottsdale home furnishings corridor.

The Englewood, CO-based GDA Real Estate worked with GE Commercial Finance to obtain a $17.2-million conduit loan for the fully leased center at 15505-07 N. Scottsdale Rd. The seller was local developer, Broadmoor Enterprises, which built Zocallo Furniture Plaza in 1999.

GDA Real Estate beat out more than five potential buyers, Mike Day, a senior adviser with Sperry Van Ness' Phoenix office, tells GlobeSt.com. He, Ari Spiro and Jeff Chalfin brokered the deal after it was previously marketed by two other companies. "Certainty of closing was of paramount interest to the seller," Day adds.

Day says the center, listed at $19.5 million, sold for a very aggressive price per sf of $375 per sf. "The location is unmatched with its demographics," he explains, adding the area is known as "furniture row."

The center sits on 4.4 acres with high-end furniture retailer, Fort Myers, FL-based Robb & Stucky Ltd., located across the street. The average household income within a five-mile radius of the center is more than $97,000 per year.

The center is occupied by one-of-a-kind retailers like Expressions Custom Furniture, Exotic Home, Pacific Green, Nevada Leather Furniture and Elegance Preserved. The average lease rate for Zocallo Furniture Plaza is $35 per sf. "The buyer felt comfortable about the ability to re-lease space if needed," Day says.