Terms of the 15-year deal call for La Curacao to co-anchor Pacific Center, a shopping complex on the southeast corner of Slauson Avenue and Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park. The company, which some have called a Latin-style version of Wal-Mart, is a high-volume retailer that offers everything from perfume and toys to computers and furniture under a single roof.

The Huntington Park store will be LA-based La Curacao's fourth in the area, and the second it has launched in the past few months. Last fall, it opened a 106,000-sf complex that co-anchors a shopping center in nearby South Gate.

The income of Latino households is rising nearly twice as fast as those of other ethnic groups, the Census Bureau says. Their rising spending power has brought huge success to retailers and shopping-center owners who've been able to harness it.

La Curacao's rapid expansion--starting as a door-to-door sales operation which now employs more than 1,000 worker--sharply contrasts to the troubles besetting some older chains that have failed to garner a huge Latino following. Only yesterday, retail giant J.C. Penney Co. said it would close more than 40 stores in 22 states. And last month, the century-old Montgomery Wards chain filed bankruptcy and announced plans to close all 250 of its stores across the United States.

Armando Aguirre of Grubb & Ellis' Downtown LA office represented La Curacao in its latest transaction. Grubb & Ellis' Max Franco represented the landlord, a private investment group known as IMEDRA No. 5900. With the agreement signed, the owner plans to start a massive remodeling to accommodate the new store within the next few weeks.