SCOTTSDALE – The Marketplace at Lincoln & Scottsdale, a 22,081-square-foot retail center, which has quickly become home to some of the hottest local eateries, sold for $14 million ($634 PSF). The property is located on Scottsdale Road and Lincoln Drive, one of the most recognizable intersections in the Phoenix metropolitan area and the gateway to the affluent Paradise Valley community.

The property developed by Len Noel of Covington Asset Management has been a labor of love. Noel originally purchased a bank-owned, office project on 7.5 acres in 2011 that had reached obsolescence. The following year, Covington sold off approximately 5.3 acres to Alliance Residential, who recently completed their award-winning Broadstone at Lincoln, a 264-unit luxury rental community.

The off-market, private sale was negotiated by local firm, ORION Investment Real Estate. “We had no intention of selling The Marketplace. It was intended to be a legacy asset. ORION introduced the buyer to us and we quickly developed a relationship with the buyer and realized that they shared a very similar long-term vision for the property”, says Noel.

With demographics among the most affluent in the Southwestern United States, Scottsdale Road frontage, an award winning design, and a premier residential community as its anchor, The Marketplace became an instant success. “It was a difficult decision to part with The Marketplace. In my many years in the industry, I have never had such an overwhelming interest from tenants on any project that I have developed or redeveloped. We are thrilled with what we created and to have a like-minded group to pass the torch to,” Noel continued.

The buyer, MDC Realty Advisors USA, Inc. through its U.S. affiliated company Hannay Realty Advisors is a private commercial real estate company that focuses on asset and property management in the United States. Hannay Realty Advisors currently manages approximately 12-million-square-feet of commercial properties and has offices in Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, Kansas City and Las Vegas. In addition to several other transactions across the western U.S., they have recently purchased other high profile Arizona assets, including Paloma Village in Tucson at Skyline and Campbell, and the Corner on 7^th & Camelback East Shops in Phoenix. They have acquired over $400 million in U.S. real estate assets in the past 36 months.

“MDC is extremely active in acquiring and operating high-end properties in prominent locations. The Marketplace was a natural strategic fit in growing their impressive local portfolio into Scottsdale”, noted Ari Spiro, President of ORION, who brokered the transaction along with partner, Sean Stutzman. MDC, with a strong local management presence, will continue looking to grow their footprint in the Phoenix market.

Spiro concludes, “we have sold several retail properties that surpass the $500 per square foot threshold, but none can match The Marketplace’s combination of location, demographics, design, while incorporating the mixed-use element of an award-winning residential community as its anchor. Those factors widely recognized, it is no wonder that the center has quickly became home to a strong mix of salons and boutiques, Opus Bank and valley hotspots of Sumo Maya, Vivo! Ristorante and Scramble.”

The Marketplace at Lincoln & Scottsdale represents the highest price per square foot ever achieved for a multi-tenant retail center over 10,000-square-feet in Arizona. The previous record was also set by Orion Investment Real Estate in November 2008, with the sale of The Shops at Zocallo at the Northeast Corner of Scottsdale Road & Greenway-Hayden Loop for $630 PSF.

To learn more Spiro and Stutzman should be contacted at 480.634.6934.

Surf Thru, Inc. a Fresno, California-based company (Todd Gall, secretary) purchased its second site in the Tucson area last week. The 1.45 acre at 35 South Pantano Road, Tucson, AZ located south of the southeast corner of Broadway Boulevard and Pantano Road commanded a sale price of $600,000 ($9.50 PSF).

This will be the 8th location for Surf-Thru Express Car Wash and Tucson’s second. Gall told us last year, with the opening its first location at 3847 W River Road in Marana, that plans were to develop five locations in the Tucson area. The company’s current locations are in Fresno, Clovis and Visalia with others under construction in Southern California.

BFL Construction is the contractor and Cypress Civil Development, the Engineering firm on the Tucson projects.

Each car wash creates about 16 jobs including four or five full-time positions, Gall told us.

Surf Thru Express Car Wash uses cleaning ingredients that are environmentally friendly and mostly bio-degradable. Because Surf Thru controls the flow rate and the water pressure, it uses far less water per car than washing at home with state of the art water purification (reverse osmosis) systems in every wash that removes 99% of the minerals and impurities that otherwise leave water spots on vehicles.

Craig Finfrock of Commercial Retail Advisors, LLC in Tucson negotiated the purchase for the buyer. The seller, National Retail Properties LP, formerly known as Commercial Net Lease Realty LP of Orlando, FL was represented by Pete Villaescusa and Jesse Peron with CBRE in Tucson.

To learn more Finfrock should be contacted at 520.290.3200 and Villaescusa and Peron can be called at 520 323.5100.

For additional information log in and refer to RED Comp #2760.

[mepr-show rules=”58038″]Sale date: 3/27/2015. Sale Price $600,000 all cash deal. Property is to the south of Circle K at the corner.[/mepr-show]

ABI Multifamily, a dedicated multifamily brokerage and advisory services firm, is pleased to announce the sale of Desert Stone Condominiums, a prime Central Phoenix community for $1.1 million ($84,615 per unit).

The 13-units at Desert Stone Condominiums were built in two phases in 1965 and 2003. The 1965-built portion was highly renovated in 2011 and 2012. The property is a well-maintained complete condominium community. Desert Stone consists of 2 rental buildings, a grassy common area and a sparkling swimming pool. The buildings are constructed of block and wood, with pitched asphalt shingle roofs. Each building is individually metered unit for electricity. The units feature abundant closet space, modern kitchens and bathrooms, and a fully enclosed one- or two-car garage. Seven of the thirteen condo units have washer/dryer connections and the remaining units have use of an on-site laundry facility.

The property is ideally located in an outstanding east-central Phoenix location near 16^th Street and Bethany Home Road. Madison Rose Lane Elementary School is across the street, with easy access to a plethora of jobs, higher education schools, quality healthcare and shopping, the property is uniquely positioned for continued high demand.

The community has an attractive unit mix of one- two and three-bedroom unit types and sold as a value-added opportunity.

Terry Kass, Senior Vice President, and Alon Shnitzer, Senior Managing Partner, with ABI Multifamily facilitated the sale representing the buyer, Koventures LLC, based in Carlsbad, CA in the transaction. Buyer is an experienced multifamily investor with other condominium projects in the Phoenix market. This is the second recent purchase for this buyer through ABI Multifamily.

The sellers were private investors, Wei Zhou and Yuk Chiu Lou of San Diego, CA.

To learn more Kass can be contacted at 602.635.7431 and Shnitzer can be reached at 602.714.1283.