ESI Ventures, doing business as Black Canyon Place LLC, acquired Mercado del Rancho in an all-cash transaction from 10301 North 92nd Street Holdings LLC of Washington DC, a corporation controlled by CWCapital Asset Management. CWCapital took back the property in late 2009. It was previously owned by Phoenix-based Orsett Properties Ltd.

CWCapital hired Barry Gabel and Mindy Korth of CB Richard Ellis' Phoenix office to sell the property, which was developed in the mid-1980s. "We didn't have a list price, because the seller wanted to make sure the market established the value," Korth tells GlobeSt.com.

Similar properties in the Phoenix metro area have sold for $40 per square foot to $60 per square foot. "It's my perception that buyers determined value based on discount from replacement value and quality of location," Korth says, adding that the property was on the market for three weeks.