34,000-SF Plaza del Rio Brings $3.1 Mil

PHOENIX-Community Centers of America, headquartered in California, has closed a $3.1 million deal to take title to the 34,000-sf Plaza del Rio in south Scottsdale. The Cole Cos., a Phoenix-based real estate investment company, is the seller of the Plaza del Rio.

The center is located at the southeast corner of Miller and McDowell roads, where one-time plans had called for construction of a $585-million entertainment-retail center on the site of the former Los Arcos Mall. The plans had been scuttled when the developer opted to head to Glendale. “It’s not going to hurt it not being there, but certainly the buyer would have liked to have the Los Arcos project go,” says Greg Valladao, an investment broker in the Phoenix office of Grubb & Ellis Co. who helped bring together the transaction. “It’s a good solid piece of real estate, with solid returns and a stable tenant base.” The center is anchored by a Peter Piper Pizza, and a number of smaller independent shops.

The owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, Steve Ellman, who owns the 42-acre site at the southeast corner of McDowell and Scottsdale roads, had a deal going with Scottsdale to build a major retail center at the site, along with office space, condominiums, movie theaters and a new arena for his NHL hockey team. But the deal fell through and Ellman took his puck, his team and the center to Glendale. The site is cleared and Ellman has said that it might sit that way for some time.