CINCINNATI—Over the past year, Kingsley Wells Enterprises transformed downtown's former Tower Place Mall into Mabley Place, a 775-space parking garage. Although the developers finished the project just last October, they have already secured an anchor tenant to run the garage and just sold it to MVP REIT, Inc., a San Diego-based trust, for $15 million, illustrating the CBD's solid reputation. The new seven-level garage, located at 418 Race St., also has about 8,400-square-feet of retail space.

Joseph Merrill Capital, a New York-based firm, structured a $9 million acquisition loan for the purchase. “It's a long-term investment with a predictable cash flow in a fundamentally sound CBD,” James J. Rizzi, managing principal, tells GlobeSt.com. “It's a good long-term play.”

“It's a new CBD for us,” Rizzi adds. And although JMC has not assisted in the purchase of a lot of parking lots, “we're starting to see more of it,” perhaps due to the predictable cash flow of these types of properties.

"This garage benefits from its premium location in a well-visited area near major attractions, as well as its long-term net lease to a quality operator," says Mike Shustek, chairman and chief executive officer of MVP.

The purchase also shows the growing interest in cities like Cincinnati. Rizzi says “we're seeing more and more investors looking for properties in CBDs that, although they are fundamentally sound, are outside the traditional core markets.”

 

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