LAKE GROVE, NY-In what was one of Long Island’s largest retail property sales for 2010, a 251,222-square-foot shopping center here has changed hands for $48 million, GlobeSt.com has exclusively learned. New York City-based Prestige Properties acquired DSW Plaza at Lake Grove from Centro Properties Group in a late-December deal arranged by Cushman & Wakefield, which had handled the sale of the center to Centro in 2003.

A key selling point was the property’s location on heavily-trafficked Middle County Road, directly opposite the 1.4-million-square-foot Smith Haven Mall. DSW Plaza is fully leased, and the surrounding Suffolk County retail market boasts a vacancy rate that averages less than 5%. 

“Retail investment opportunities have been scarce throughout the tri-state area this year, and even more so on Long Island,” says &C&W’s Gary Gabriel in a statement. “That being the case, this property’s fantastic location made it a very compelling purchase. We received a significant number of offers from both public companies and private investors. Prestige Properties ultimately distinguished itself among the pack.” Gabriel handled the sale with team members Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut and Jared Zimmel, all part of C&W's East Rutherford, NJ-based metropolitan area capital markets group.

Along with the big-box shoe retailer that gives DSW Plaza its name, other anchor tenants include Toys ‘R’ Us, Staples and Michael’s Crafts. The center also counts Golfsmith, Tuesday Morning, Lenscrafters and a Houlihan’s Restaurant among its tenants.

Merin adds that the shopping center provides “a stable cash flow, given that nearly half the center is leased until 2018. Furthermore, the property was offered with favorable debt.” Prestige assumed a $27-million loan at an interest-only rate of 4.75%.

He notes that the property’s demographics further boosted its attractiveness as an investment. “Long Island is one of the most densely populated and wealthiest areas in the nation,” Merin says. “DSW Plaza draws from a great trade area.”

According to Centro’s website, the five-mile area surrounding DSW Plaza contains nearly 70,000 households with a total population estimated at 232,404. Average household income within three miles of the center is $111,272, while the median home value is $421,130.