Brixmor buys grocery-anchored retail center in Brea

182K sf in OC city includes Ralphs, service providers, restaurants

Brixmor Property Group CEO James Taylor and the Brea Gateway Center (Brixmor, Google Maps)
Brixmor Property Group CEO James Taylor and the Brea Gateway Center (Brixmor, Google Maps)

Brixmor Property Group has purchased a shopping center anchored by a grocery store in Orange County for $85.7 million.

The New York-based REIT bought the 182,000-square-foot Brea Gateway Center at the end of last year, the firm announced in an earnings release on Monday.

The deal comes out to around $470 per square foot.

Built in 1995, the Brea Gateway Center is at the corner of Imperial Highway and Brea Boulevard. It was developed by Watt/Craig Associates, and the Ralphs grocery chain has been a tenant since it opened.

Watt/Craig Associates exited the property as a general partner in 2006 and was replaced by limited liability companies linked to PNC Bank, according to state business records.

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PNC Bank did not respond to a request for comment.

With its new purchase, Brixmor currently owns around 1.9 million square feet across Southern California. The firm also owns Montebello Plaza in Los Angeles County – a shopping center with a store of the Albertsons grocery chain at 2401 West Via Campo.

Grocery stores have become a popular investment choice during the pandemic compared with other retail classes, as grocers were largely exempt from pandemic-related closures and restrictions.

In December, Deka Immobilien, the Frankfurt, Germany-based investment firm, purchased a Whole Foods Market in Santa Monica for $54 million — around $1,022 per square foot, one of the highest retail deals of the year in terms of price per foot.