NewMark Merrill Buys Arden Retail Asset

Dixie Walker of the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis says the deal will be a repositioning play for NewMark Merrill, which specializes in the acquisition, development and management of shopping centers. Walker and Charley Simpson, also of Grubb & Ellis' Newport Beach office, represented Arden, which acquired the retail center as part of a portfolio but sought to dispose of it as it has disposed of other non-office assets through the years. NewMark Merrill was represented in-house by Sandy Sigal, Jim Patton and John Hickman.

Tower Center is located at 27471 Ynez Rd. at the southwest corner of Rancho California Road and Ynez Road with Interstate 15 frontage. Tenants include Orchard's Marketplace, Sanborn Theatres, Armstrong's Garden Center, Starbuck's and Ben & Jerry's. It is part of an Inland Empire retail property market that is attracted increasing numbers of retail investors and developers from throughout the country as the region's growth accelerates and dozens of new housing developments are built.

In the office investment deal, Knapp Street Properties bought a 50,000-sf office building at 43460 Ridge Park Dr. in the city from Crystal Point LLC for $7.9 million. The buyer was represented by Gary Di Martino of TOLD Partners Inc., with the seller represented by Lee & Associates. The property is a two-story, multi-tenant building that was purchased as a fully leased investment. One of the tenants is an executive suites, Di Martino notes, and the buyer will take over the management of the suites from the seller. The transaction completes an exchange in which Knapp Street Properties sold two flex buildings in Chatsworth totaling 30,000 sf, a deal also brokered by Di Martino.