LA QUINTA, CA-Barker Pacific Group and Urdang have acquired a 138,000-square-foot former Sam's Club building on 14 acres and see significant potential for leasing the space to other tenants. are already talking to prospective tenants. The new owners are already in discussions with several prospective tenants, according to Michael Barker, managing director of BPG, who says, “There is great potential for adding value by repurposing the property, given its close proximity to the other high-traffic retailers.”

The former Sam’s Club, built in 2007, is at 79-315 Highway 111 and has been empty since it closed last year. The building sits on 14 acres, with 633 parking spaces and the possibility of adding another 50. Included in the purchase is a contiguous 1.25-acre parcel ideally suited for retail use.

Barker points out that the building is sandwiched between two major traffic generators, Super Wal-Mart and Costco. It is also close to a large number of other national retail tenants. “We feel that the strength of this location will be attractive to a number of tenants desiring a foothold in a traditionally strong retail corridor,” Barker said.

BPG's financial partner, Urdang, is part of BNY Mellon Asset Management, which made its share of the investment through Urdang Value-Added Fund II LP, a private real estate fund managed by Urdang Capital Management Inc. The buyers acquired the property from Wal-Mart for $7.26 million.

Jeff Reder, senior vice president of Urdang Capital Management, commented: “Our partnership’s ability to complete an all-cash purchase and invest future capital into the project provides us the flexibility to adaptively reuse the existing space to accommodate a variety of potential tenant needs.” He noted that the purchase price was well below replacement cost.

Maggie Montez from the Indian Wells office of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller. Jim Mauge of Pacific Group Partners and Bryan Norcott and Lea Clay Park from Studley’s L.A. and Irvine offices represented BPG and will serve as the leasing team for the project.