Part of Puente Hills Center Commands $44M

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA-Los Angeles-based JSL Plaza at Puente Hills has acquired a 178,000-sf portion of the Plaza at Puente Hills retail center for $44 million as part of a marketing strategy of breaking up the retail center into parcels to maximize return. President Richard Walter of Irvine-based Faris Lee Investments, which engineered the deal, says that seller SCI Real Estate Investments of Los Angeles realized a strong return on its investment after a relatively short hold while the buyer acquired a property for a price below replacement cost but with upside in bringing rents to market.

Walter and Donald MacLellan, a Faris Lee managing director, represented the seller, with Faris Lee director Patrick Kent representing the buyer. The portion of the center that sold is at 17877–18271 Gale Ave. and sits on a parcel of 13.65 acres.

Walter notes that the property generated multiple offers and closed at a 6.3% cap rate with the space 94% occupied by national credit tenants such as Office Depot, Smart & Final, Sam Ash, Shoe City and others at the close of escrow. The Faris Lee president calls the deal “a prime example of how a breakup strategy can be profitable even after a re-sale.”