Lucescu Realty Announces the Opening of a New Office in Phoenix, AZ and Sale of The Promenade in Scottsdale, AZ for $110 Million
NEWPORT BEACH, CA – July 12, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Mark Lucescu, President of Lucescu Realty, a market leading investment real estate services firm, announced today that the firm has recently opened a new regional office in Phoenix, AZ to better serve its clients. Lucescu Realty’s new Phoenix office is located at 2415 East Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ.
“Opening a Phoenix office, the second office outside of California where the firm is headquartered, has been a long planned goal for our firm,” said Lucescu. “We’ve had the good fortune over the years to represent many of the premier real estate firms in Phoenix including KBS Realty Advisors, Levine Investments, Vestar Development, Vertical Holdings and many others on some of the most noteworthy retail and office assets throughout Arizona. Opening an office here will further our continued success in the Phoenix and Tucson markets and position us for continued growth throughout the Southwestern U.S., with plans to open an office in San Francisco before the end of the year.”
Lucescu Realty’s sale of The Promenade in Scottsdale, which closed earlier today, marks one of the largest shopping center sales ever recorded in Arizona. The sale price was $110 million. Lucescu Realty represented the seller, a local private investor, and procured the buyer, Excel Trust of San Diego, CA. The Promenade is one of the largest and most dominant mixed-use projects in the Phoenix MSA and combines a unique mix of large box retailers, specialty boutiques, restaurants, and Class A offices. The retail component includes a power center totaling approximately 730,000 sq. ft. of GLA; 433,533 sq. ft. of which was included in the sale, and is anchored by Lowe’s Home Improvement (not part of the sale), The Great Indoors (not part of the sale), Nordstrom Rack, Office Max, PetSmart, Old Navy, Michaels, SteinMart, Trader Joe’s, Cost Plus World Market and Pier One Imports. Located on 51 acres, the entire project, incorporating a total of one million square feet, is known by many as the “Gateway to Scottsdale.” Built in 1999, the property is 100% leased; 82% to regional and national chain tenants. Part of the purchase included the assumption of an existing, securitized, loan of approximately $52 million. The Frank Lloyd Wright designed project is located at one of Scottsdale’s most prominent intersections, Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, one mile south of Loop 101, and immediately north of Scottsdale Municipal Airport and is at the center of the highest income demographics of any location in metropolitan Phoenix. Within a 1- and 3-mile radius, the estimated average household income is $117,318 and $116,607 respectively.
The Promenade sale is part of approximately $500 million in current and recent retail property sale transactions for Lucescu Realty. Other recent noteworthy closings included the sale of Park West Place, Stockton, Calif., a 757,000 sq. ft. power center that sold for $92.5 million and Gilroy Crossing, Gilroy, Calif., a 474,000 sq. ft. power center that sold for $68.5 million. Last year, Lucescu Realty was recognized as one of the most active brokerage firms in the U.S. in the sale of shopping centers valued in excess of $25 million including being the third most active in California transactions and the sixth most active in U.S. transactions.
According to Lucescu in discussing the latest retail market trends, “We expect core and core plus offerings to continue to garner the greatest demand due to the dearth of available inventory and the surplus of capital pursuing these types of offerings. Class B and C retail properties will continue to experience declining lease rates due to increasing vacancies and increasing competition from Class A centers as tenants trade up to higher quality locations with similar lease rates.”
Lucescu Realty is a market leading investment real estate services firm that uniquely combines major capital markets expertise with a complete and thorough understanding of real estate fundamentals to execute a wide range of services on behalf of its clients. Lucescu Realty specializes in individual property and portfolio transactions, on behalf of public and private companies worldwide, involving neighborhood, community, power, and lifestyle centers, regional malls, and suburban and central business district office buildings. The hallmark of Lucescu Realty is its ability to maximize value through its exclusive focus on sale transactions, access to the full spectrum of both public and private investors, intimate local market knowledge through its in-house group of market analysts, tailored marketing strategies, and depth of capital market experience. For more information, see www.lucescurealty.com.
