Westside Retail Property Commands $901 Per SF

The property, at 359-373 Robertson Boulevard, consists of two multi-tenant buildings totaling 6,876 square feet on a two-parcel, 13,142-square-foot lot with 209 feet of street frontage on Robertson. It sits on one city block between Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue, near a number of high-image retailers.

Jay Martinez, a principal of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Inc., who represented the estate, comments that, "While this $901 per square foot price tag may seem huge, it's important to remember that retail properties in this same location were selling for much, much more before the recession set in."

For example, Martinez points out that 146 S. Robertson Blvd., a 4,644-square-foot retail building located three-tenths of a miles away, sold for $3,143 per square foot in June, 2008. "This sale is a prime example of how buyers can capitalize on today's prices" to secure an asset with tremendous appreciation potential, Martinez says.

The buyer of 359-373 Robertson Blvd. was Sakhi Properties LLC, which acquired the property to house its business, Amadi Carpets. Sakhi was represented by Mike Tingus, president of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura Inc.

The property had been tied up in litigation following Bishop's death in October, 2007 and was listed in a mandatory estate sale in April at $8 million. Martinez reports that the 23 offers received were narrowed to the top seven before the buyer, whose current retail location is across the street from the property, was chosen.

"The majority of offers were from investors," Martinez notes. However, as an owner-user, the buyer was able to finance through Bank of the West with 10% percent down and an SBA loan, "making the offer very competitive," Martinez says.