UPDATE: SilverCreek Sees Significant Upside in $96M Retail Buy

IRVINE, CA-SilverCreek Properties has acquired a portfolio of 46 retail centers totaling 770,000 sf in 20 states in the West, Midwest and South for $96 million from the Klein Group of Coldwater, MI. The company says that it sees "a significant upside potential to maximize performance and to increase the value of the assets" which are 95% shadow-anchored by Wal-Mart stores.

Randy Crossno, a former 15-year veteran of Wal-Mart who joined SilverCreek as a development partner last year, will oversee the leasing and managing of the newly acquired assets, which are 96% occupied. The centers, which are roughly one to six years old, typically have five to 15 tenants such as Dollar Tree, Radio Shack, CATO Clothing and Game Stop.

SilverCreek's purchase of the portfolio was brokered by Salt Lake City-based ­Commerce CRG, an Alliance Member of Cushman & Wakefield, which represented Klein. SilverCreek Properties was represented by Fouy Ly of Sperry Van Ness.

"Because of the reliable strong traffic Wal-Mart generates, retailers want these locations," says Kip Paul, one of the Commerce CRG agents. Along with Paul, the other Commerce CRG brokers were Jake Fairclough and Ben Brown. Mark Strauss of Cohen Financial of Newport Beach secured the acquisition loan for the deal from RBS Greenwich Capital's Real Estate Finance Group.

The 20 states in which the properties are located are Utah, Montana, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas.

SilverCreek is an acquisition, development and management company specializing in retail and commercial properties. The new properties join a SilverCreek portfolio that includes numerous retail projects that the company has developed in recent years in California and the West.