Voorhees and his team represented seller Marketplace Propertiesin the sale of the retail center to a family trust as a replacementproperty completing a 1031 exchange. Marketplace Properties wasalso the developer of the center.

Voorhees observes that, as recently as five years ago, "It wouldhave been hard to imagine even the finest neighborhood shoppingcenter selling for more than $300 per sf in Los Angeles or Orangecounties, let alone the Inland Empire." He adds that investors arenow viewing some Inland Empire purchases on a par with similarprojects in Los Angeles County.

The Winery Estate Marketplace is anchored by Henry's Marketplaceand is noted for its original design, which complements theadjacent Joseph Filippi Winery. Voorhees says that surpassing theprice of $500 per sf on a transaction of this size "is a testamentto the quality of the project and also to depth of the retailinvestor base in Southern California." Prices of $500 per sf andhigher are "typically the domain of new strip centers in the $3million to $6 million range," he explains.