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SCOTTSDALE, AZ-BlackRock Realty Advisors has snagged one of the few grocery-anchored retail centers in the area for $22.5 million. The 100,958-sf McDowell Mountain Marketplace was 87% leased at sale time.

Located at 10110 E. Bell Rd., the grocery-anchored center rose in 2002 in the 3,200-acre, mixed-use McDowell Mountain Ranch. "This is a very strong center in a very desirable North Scottsdale location," says Glen Smigiel with CB Richard Ellis Inc. in Tucson. He and CBRE colleagues Bob Young, Steven Brabant and Rick Abraham represented the seller, Sterling Centrecorp of Edmonton, Alberta while the Newport Beach, CA-based BlackRock used in-house executives to package the deal.

Smigiel says another advantage to acquiring McDowell Mountain Ranch is the lack of grocery-anchored centers planned for the area. "There's a lot of residential being developed with strong demographics and a lot of new housing, but no additional commercial," he adds.

Smigiel tells GlobeSt.com that the center, marketed for 60 days as an un-priced offering, attracted 15 bids, with BlackRock beating out the competition because of its track record and competitive offer. He says CBRE's Phoenix office will be leasing the center. "There are a number of tenants who are filling up the balance," he adds.

According to Smigiel, the seller, eyeing the advantage of low cap rates and compression in the marketplace, disposed of the asset to free up capital for more area developments. "They'd bought the land, had developed the center and it represented a good sales transaction for them," he explains. "The seller is also convinced that the buyer will do well with the center too." Tenants include Bashas' Supermarket, Allstate Insurance Inc. and a UPS Store.

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