Harbor Group Enters SoCal Retail Market

BEVERLY HILLS—Harbor Group International, a Virginia-based investment management firm, has penetrated the Southern California market with its first retail purchase. The investor has bought a 14,000-square-foot single-tenant retail property in Beverly Hills Golden Triangle for $40 million. The purchase is part of Harbor Group's investment plans to penetrate retail markets poised for rent growth.

“It has been part of our urban retail strategy, for the last several years, to focus on urban street level properties in very high pedestrian markets where we see the prospects for increasing rents,” Richard Litton, Jr., president of the Harbor Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “Those metrics have led us to focus on a number of markets, including New York, Washington DC, London and now the Rodeo Drive area in Beverly Hills.”

The property currently has a long-term tenant, retailer COS, in place and was recently renovated, making it all the more attractive. “There is a long-term lease at the property with a name-brand tenant that is a subsidiary of H&M, and the property is positioned on Beverly Drive in a location that has very high foot traffic. All of those qualities were very attractive to us,” says Litton. “The building has been full renovated, and we anticipate significant rent growth in the submarket, so even though it is on a long-term lease with a rent that is already in place, we will be able to unlock value and resell it to the extent that market rents are increasing in the future.”

Beverly Hills Golden Triangle is, of course, one of the strongest retail markets in the country. The investor plans to hold the property in the long term, and will be looking in the market for other opportunities.