A Grubb & Ellis team of Ian Brown, John Martin, Michelle Schierbeil and David Lowry represented the buyer. Bob Criell of Lee & Associates spoke for the seller, Koll-Santa Margarita Venture II, a partnership of the Newport Beach-based Koll Co. and the New York-based Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

Sales of retail property in many parts of California have slowed in lockstep with the cooling economy. But the market for such projects in Orange County has fared better than most, in part because the region's low unemployment rate has boosted consumer confidence and left workers in the region with relatively large amounts of disposable cash.

The fortunes of OC's retail centers have also been boosted by a dearth of new construction projects. Large anchored centers enjoyed strong sales last year and lease rates are continuing to rise in the Irvine and south county submarkets, according to a recent forecast by Richard Sim, chairman of Investment Properties Group for the behemoth, OC-based builder, the Irvine Co.