Northridge shopping center sells for $16M in online auction

PacWest Management gave new meaning to the phrase “online shopping” by acquiring an 89,500-square-foot shopping center through an online auction.

Cushman & Wakefield said Tuesday that the Northridge Promenade was dealt for $16.4 million, or about $183 per square foot, through the Ten-X online auction platform. The seller was LNR Partners, LLC.

The Northridge Promenade, located on 4.9 acres at 19510-19530 Nordhoff Street, was 82 percent occupied by 25 tenants at the time of sale, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which represented the seller. Guitar Center, the music equipment retailer, is the anchor tenant.

Newport Beach-based firm Core Realty first acquired the shopping center in 2007 for $22 million, but the owners struggled to maintain enough cash flow to pay off their debts.

Vacant units in the center total 16,000 square feet of open retail space.

The property stands to benefit from the resurgence of residential development in the immediate area. Sherman Oaks-based landlord LB Property Management plans to construct a 146-unit mixed-use building, which requires zoning and height changes, about one mile east of the shopping center.

Pac West Management will continue to operate Northridge Promenade as it is now, but over the long-term the firm hopes to redevelop the property with mixed-use apartments and retail space, said a spokesperson for Cushman & Wakefield.

Also Tuesday, Cushman & Wakefield said that LNR Partners sold the Pomona Tech Center for more than $6.5 million, or approximately $147 per square foot. A private buyer purchased the two-story, 44,200-square-foot office building at 3201 Temple Ave. in Pomona. It was 89 percent leased at the time of the sale to six tenants. St. Joseph Health and Henkels & McCoy occupies 46 percent of the building.