CORONA, CA-Two separate buyers have closed on the acquisitionsof two NNN retail properties totaling nearly 36,000 square feetthat complete a three-parcel breakup strategy at the Shops atSycamore Creek, with all three sales at cap rates below 7%,according to Irvine-based Faris Lee Investments, which representedthe seller in the transactions. In the latest two sales, YFPSycamore Creek LLC of Los Angeles bought a 12,900-square-footCVS/Pharmacy on 1.89 acres for $4.93 million, and the Corona-basedKnaak Family Partnership bought a 20-year, 23,087-square-foot NNNground lease for a Von’s fuel station for $2.13 million. Earlierthis year, a Wells Fargo-occupied parcel sold for $2.6 million tobegin the breakup process, with the buyer placing a 50% loan on theproperty.

Faris Lee senior managing director Dennis Vaccaro and presidentRichard Walter represented Orange County-based seller Shops atSycamore Creek LLC on all three sales. Vaccaro points out that theFaris Lee team "acted as a strategic liaison between the developer,lender, attorneys and engineers during every step of this complexparcelization process."

Walter explains that breaking up a retail property into smallerparcels expands the buyer pool and allows small- to mid-sizedinvestors the opportunity to own a portion of a larger retailcenter, which ultimately provides them with a more unique anddiverse investment. A particular challenge on this assignment wasthe fact that several hundred housing sites located across thestreet from the property were never built. Subsequently, severalsuites within the center have never leased and most tenantsreported low sales. In addition, amendments to the REA werenecessary to effect the breakup sale.