LA CANADA, CA-A private investment partnership has acquired the 42,093-square-foot Foothill Promenade at 475 Foothill Blvd. from Dollinger Properties of Redwood City, CA for $16 million in an off-market transaction. The property, a neighborhood shopping center that was built in 1995, was 100% occupied at the time of sale, according to William B. Asher of Irvine, CA-based Hanley Investment Group, who represented the buyer along with Jim Barthe of Real Estate Portfolio Specialists of Pasadena and Paul and Nathan Strauss of ASB Property Management Inc. of Monrovia.

The center is situated on 2.75 acres at the signalized intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Gould Avenue. Tenants include Trader Joe's, Union Bank, Petco, Aaron Brothers, Starbucks and Han’s Beauty.

According to Asher, the partnership that bought the center is seeking to acquire additional high- quality shopping centers in Southern California, preferably on an all-cash basis. The Foothill Promenade is the second major shopping center purchased by the investors in the last 10 months. In October 2009, they acquired the Tustin Courtyard Shopping Center in Orange County.

Asher described the Foothill Promenade deal as "a rare sale of a pride-of-ownership neighborhood shopping center in the greater San Gabriel Valley area and overall in today’s market.” He notes that the property was never on the market and the buyer assumed an existing loan with the purchase.

The first half of 2010 has been marked by a lack of supply of quality neighborhood shopping centers marketed for sale and actually selling in Southern California, according to Asher. “This combined with an increased demand from investors has created a very competitive environment so far this year," he says. In the past couple of months, however, the number of neighborhood centers sold and marketed for sale has increased, he adds. "Watch for this trend to continue and pick up momentum moving into the fourth quarter,” Asher says.