TUCSON, ARIZONA —  Five Valero gas-stations and c-stores in Tucson were acquired by Getty Realty of Jericho, NY for $10.55 million from CST Arizona Stations, Inc. formerly known as Diamond Shamrock Arizona, as part of a $123 million portfolio.

To facilitate Empire Petroleum Partners LLC’s purchase of a portfolio of convenience stores from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Getty Realty Corp. agreed to provide acquisition leaseback funding to Empire, in order to acquire fee-simple interests in 49 c-store and gas-station properties for $123 million under a unitary lease.

Couche-Tard’s Circle K Stores Inc. agreed to sell a portfolio of 71 properties to Empire to satisfy compliance with regulatory requirements associated with its acquisition of CST Brands Inc.

The properties are located primarily within metropolitan markets in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas. Those in Tucson were at 15240 N Oracle Rd., Oro Valley; 5005 N La Canada Dr., Tucson; 1895 E Valencia Rd, Tucson; 1810 W Prince Rd, Tucson; and 9520 E 22nd Street, Tucson.

The unitary lease, effective at closing, provides for an initial term of 15 years, with four five-year renewal options. Rent is scheduled to increase annually during the initial and renewal terms of the lease.

“We are excited to have entered into this transaction and to begin a long-term relationship with Empire,” said Christopher J. Constant, president and CEO of Getty. “The properties being acquired represent a high-quality convenience-store and gasoline-station portfolio and are located in markets which we have been targeting for some time. We believe this transaction demonstrates our commitment to the convenience-store industry as well as our ability to respond quickly to meet the capital needs of our customers.”

Getty Realty paid for the transaction through funds available under its credit agreement. The transaction is subject to numerous closing conditions, including the closing of a separate purchase agreement under which Empire has agreed to purchase the properties from Couche-Tard, and regulatory review and approval of the separate agreement.

Empire Petroleum, Dallas, is a motor-fuels distributor of brands that include Chevron, Shell, Valero, ConocoPhillips, Marathon, CITGO, Texaco, Sunoco, BP, Exxon, Mobil and Gulf. It distributes motor-fuel products to more than 1,400 gas stations in 27 states in the mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest.

Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard’s network includes 8,081 convenience stores throughout North America, including 6,710 stores selling motor fuel, mostly under the Circle K, Kangaroo Express, Mac’s and Couche-Tard banners. Its North American network consists of 15 business units, including 11 in the United States covering 41 states and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces.

CST Brands, San Antonio, has more than 2,000 locations throughout the southwestern United States, Georgia, Florida, New York and eastern Canada.

Jericho, N.Y.-based Getty Realty is a publicly traded real-estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, leasing and financing of convenience-store and gas-station properties. As of March 31, 2017, the company owned 736 properties and leased 87 properties from third-party landlords in 24 states and Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles and Phoenix, Ariz. –Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. (“Equus”), one of the nation’s leading private equity real estate fund managers and iStar Inc. (“iStar”), announced today the formation of a joint venture to complete the $53,150,000 acquisition of McDowell Mountain Business Park in Scottsdale, AZ.

McDowell Mountain Business Park is a premier Class A office complex comprised of two identical three-story office buildings totaling 255,573± rentable square feet, located at 16425 and 16552 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale, Arizona.  Mesa West Capital has funded $42.6 million in first mortgage debt for the acquisition of the project.  The venture acquired the REO property from RAIT Financial Trust

McDowell Mountain Business Park was built in 2006 and 2007.  The property was 74% leased at acquisition to a diverse group of tenants. This upscale property is situated in a prime central location on the Loop 101 just north of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, providing easy access, excellent visibility and exposure.  Each L-shaped building offers expansive common areas with upscale finishes and floor plates that allows for maximum flexibility in layout and design.  In addition to its mountain views, the amenity-rich office complex is just minutes from a variety of nearby resorts, hotels and golf courses. A wide range of restaurants and retail stores are also nearby, and the buildings are only three miles from the Scottsdale Municipal Airport.

“We are pleased to expand our relationship with iStar and look forward to implementing our business plan on another well-located and high-quality project,” said Jonathan Praw, who oversaw the transaction. Praw, a Senior Vice President and Head of West Coast Operations for Equus, is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

This is the second joint venture for Equus and iStar in the Scottsdale market. The venture also owns Raintree Corporate Center, which is currently 95% leased, up from 51% at the time of acquisition in September 2015.  Raintree Corporate Center is a mile south of McDowell Mountain Business Park.

“We are excited to partner once again with a highly respected group like Equus. This opportunistic acquisition positions us to capitalize on the success we’ve had with our existing Raintree asset, with an attractive investment alongside a best-in-class owner,” said David Sotolov, Executive Vice President and Head of West Coast Investments, who oversaw the transaction for iStar.

“Equus and iStar are strong sponsors with a demonstrated track-record in the Scottsdale submarket,” added Jason Bressler Mesa West Vice President who originated the financing.
iStar has invested in Class A office, retail, industrial and residential projects in the greater Phoenix market for more than two decades.  This joint venture was made on behalf of Equus Investment Partnership X, L.P., a discretionary fund managed by Equus. Affiliates of Equus also own Scottsdale Gateway I, a 106,931-square-foot office building, and 92 Mountain View, a 116,200-square-foot office building, in the Scottsdale area.

Bryan Taute, Jim Fijan and Will Mast with CBRE’s Phoenix office headed the negotiations on the transaction between Buyer and Seller. Bryan Taute has also been appointed to spearhead leasing and marketing activities for the property.  Mesa West Capital’s five-year floating rate interest only loan was arranged by Rocco Mandala with CBRE in the firm’s Phoenix office.

Phoenix, Arizona – Rommie Mojahed has been recognized in the valley for his notable retail development transactions from areas all over the valley.  As one of the Director’s for the retail division, he has grown his retail team over the years and brings on Lindsey Dulle to oversee specific marketing and project management for the team’s extensive listing activity.  She is also fully licensed with the State of Arizona so she is the newest Associate Advisor on Mojahed’s retail team.

Dulle comes with a solid background and knowledge of commercial real estate. Mojahed said, “We are excited for Lindsey to join our team in Phoenix.  Lindsey was part of a powerhouse retail team in Newport, California and has brought that momentum to our team.” Dulle spent three years with another office in Orange County, California.  At SVN Renaissance Commercial, Lindsey worked directly with the sale and leasing teams to increase productivity, improve efficiencies, and provide support to the various teams of Advisors.

She was originally hired into the assistant marketing role at Desert Commercial Advisors in Phoenix to support the retail leasing and sales team for Rommie Mojahed however three months ago yesterday she officially hung her commercial real estate license with SVN.  Moving forward, Dulle will not only continue to play an instrumental role in offering knowledgeable marketing & design support to three other advisors, she will also be an active associate advisor on future listings.

Prior to SVN in California, she spent over three years with CBRE, where she worked for the top investment sales teams in Southern California.  “Lindsey has already been an integral part of elevating the marketing for over forty-two of Rommie’s active listings that is comprised of retail and land developments,” said the Director of Marketing & Administration, Melissa Swader.

Lindsey Dulle has her Bachelors in Liberal Studies from the University of Redlands, but she is happy to be back in her hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband and two young boys.