ORLANDO—Parkway Plaza has a new owner—and it's strategiclocation may have helped it turn investor heads. The65,000-square-foot shopping center is a half-milefrom Orlando's The Mall at Millennia. The retail asset sold for$8.5 million.

CREC chairman Warren Weiserand senior vice president Harry Blyden representedthe property's seller, a Tenant-in-Common (TIC) ownership groupmanaged by Los Angeles-based National AssetServices. The group acquired the retailcenter in 2004. The buyer was J-9 Land Partners, aprivate investment firm based in Ormond Beach, Florida.

“When it comes to neighborhood shopping centers in Florida,grocery-anchored properties remain the most desirable acquisitiontargets among institutional buyers and private investors alike,”says Blyden. “The strong sale price secured by Parkway Plaza is agood indicator that buyers are willing to pay for income-generatingretail centers located in close proximity to denseresidential areas.”