VERO BEACH, FL—Beyond the grocery-anchored shopping centers trading in top tier markets, Florida is beginning to see some activity in second tier class B assets. Vero Beach Corners, a retail strip center in the Indian River Mall submarket, traded for $1.35 million, or about $105 per square foot, on a market rate deal.

Situated at the “main and main” intersection of State Road 60 and Kings Highway, Vero Beach Corners Retail Center, LLC acquired the REO shopping center from ORIX Capital Markets. CBRE vice president William Strauss, along with first vice president Dave Donnellan and senior associate Todd Weintraub, represented ORIX Capital Markets in the transaction.

“The property generally was in good condition,” Strauss tells GlobeSt.com. Built in 2001, the class B retail strip center spans 13,000 square feet with six tenant spaces. The shopping center was 73% occupied at closing.

“Before the property went back to the lender, it was owned by a private investor located out of state,” Strauss explains. “Keeping the property occupied didn’t seem to happen with the prior owner not being local. The new owner is Vero Beach-based and may already have a tenant lined up for a 3,700-square-foot vacancy.”

Although it’s a class B property in a small submarket, Vero Beach Corners has something going for it with the strategic location. The strip center sits in front of a Walmart Supercenter and a Sam’s Club. Still, the Vero Beach market is recovering from the recession much slower than the Tri-County region just south of it.

“St. Lucie County in particular was hit harder where a lot of the population base there is more blue collar construction workers,” Strauss says. “So the unemployment rates are higher. When you get into better areas like Boca Raton and the PGA Corridor you have seen significant improvements in the last six months.”