$8M Takes 54,691-SF Retail Deed

For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.

SUN CITY, AZ-After nine months on the market and falling out of escrow once, Thunderbird Plaza has traded hands for $7.7 million. The 1031 exchange buyer from Beverly Hills, CA has assumed a $4-million loan to win the fully leased, 54,691-sf shopping center.

“The challenge for this property was that it had an assumable loan that demanded a large equity requirement,” says Greg Abbott, an investment broker with DeRito Partners Inc. Gharibco LLC assumed a loan with Chicago-based La Salle Bank for the 13602 N. 99th Ave. shopping center. Seller MFM Group LLC of Scottsdale had the loan locked in at a 5.75% fixed-rate interest until 2014. Abbott says the loan required a substantial equ8ity down payment.

The 6.8-acre acquisition includes two vacant pad sites. The fully leased development is anchored by an 8,000-sf Trader Joe’s and a 21,250-sf Sun Health outreach facility. The balance is a mix of local and national retailers. Rent average $11.20 per sf.

“The center has a great mix of tenants, but there is rollover risk,” Abbott says, noting 40% of the deals come due within 18 months. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old center received more than 15 offers.

Abbott and Judi Butterworth, also with DeRito Partners, represented the seller. Pooya Dayanim with the Los Angeles law firm of Pooya Dayanim brokered the deal for the buyer.