PACIFIC PALISADES, CA-Chicago-based Equibase Capital Group has acquired its first Los Angeles area property with its purchase of a 25,000-sf retail center. Equibase is in negotiations on several other deals in the Los Angeles market that could close soon, according to John Didrickson, a principal at the private equity real estate investment firm.

The new Equibase asset is called Pacific Palisades retail center and occupies a four-acre site at the high-traffic corner of Pacific Palisades and West Sunset Boulevard. Equibase acquired the property in conjunction with locally based Palmer Investments Inc. on behalf of an investment fund.

The new owners bought the property in a direct deal with the seller, California-based Highland Partners LLC. Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but retail properties in the Pacific Palisades and other affluent Westside markets of Los Angeles typically command some of the highest prices per sf in the region.

The 25,000-sf center, which includes 113 parking spaces, was 95% leased at the time of the sale. The new owners see upside in raising lease rates in light of the continued demand for retail space in the area.

Michael Husman, managing principal of Equibase Capital Group, says the Pacific Palisades deal reflects the Chicago-based company's nationalinvestment strategy. The strategy relies on the company's national network of real estate partners "to identify strategic investment opportunities that present substantial upside for our investors," Husman says.