Ethan Christopher Buys 26,044-SF Value Add

Ethan Christopher LLC took the 26,044-sf center, situated on 1.91 acres at 15111 N. Hayden Rd., from Stiteler Cos., with hopes of flipping a one-acre tract with a shuttered 7,471-sf car wash and detailing center. There's additional upside in the center's vacancy, points out Ari Spiro, vice president of Sperry Van Ness in Phoenix.

"There's one vacancy out of about 11,000 sf of inline shops and a vacant gas station," says Spiro, who represented the buyer. "But we got a tenant in the gas station and that deal is in escrow. That was a huge factor in the deal, locking down that gas station tenant." Spiro, who teamed with Sperry Van Ness vice president Jeff Chalfin, tells GlobeSt.com that Valero will soon open on the site.

Spiro says the buyer was drawn to the center for its location near Scottsdale Airpark and condition, adding the 20-year-old center won't need much in the way of upgrades, other than a couple of tweaks here and there. "It was a pretty fresh-looking deal," he says. "What will really help that center and traffic to the center is the reopening of the gas station."

Spiro says Ethan Christopher is continuing to look for additional assets in the Phoenix area. According to the company's website, it already owns 12 neighborhood retail properties and shopping centers in the Valley.

Gregory W. Coxon, senior managing director for CB Richard Ells in Phoenix, and teammates Cam Stanton and Jerry Mason, both first vice presidents, and Juanita Mebane, a sales assistant, represented the seller. Ethan Christopher secured $2.5 million in acquisition financing from Wells Fargo & Co. in San Francisco, according to Spiro.