DJM adds shopping center in Mission Viejo to portfolio

San Jose-based outfit plans to load up on open-air malls this year

(Gerrity Group, iStock)
(Gerrity Group, iStock)

DJM Capital Partners is on a buying spree for shopping centers across Southern California, paying $39.5 million for its latest acquisition in Mission Viejo.

The San Jose-based shopping center investment, development and management firm just closed on the nearly 79,000-square-foot Gateway Center at 24000 Alicia Parkway, according to the Orange County Business Journal.

The nine-building retail center was sold by Solana Beach-based Gerrity Group, which paid $28.6 million for the 8.6-acre property in 2013. Key tenants include Saddleback Family & Urgent Care, Starbucks Coffee and Baja Fresh.

Average household income within three miles of the 44-year-old shopping center at Alicia Parkway and Jeronimo Road is nearly $135,000 a year, according to Gerrity.

DJM Capital executives said the firm is now putting a heavy emphasis on growth and portfolio expansion of open-air retail coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Over the next year, we plan to double the square footage of our assets under management and focus on aggressive growth within our company,” said DJM President Lindsay Parton, in a statement.

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The latest purchase by DJM follows a deal it made with PGIM Real Estate, based in Newark, New Jersey, to handle management, leasing and marketing of the Long Beach Exchange, a 266,000-square-foot shopping center at 4069 N. Lakewood Blvd.

The center known as LBX was bought by PGIM from Burnham Ward Properties of Newport Beach this month for nearly $160 million – a record price for a retail complex sold in Southern California since the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

In 2019, DJM Capital teamed up with Gaw Capital Partners to purchase the 463,000-square-foot Hollywood & Highland Center at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. from CIM Group for $325 million. The outdoor complex next to the Dolby Theatre will soon be dubbed Ovation Hollywood.

DJM also has stakes in Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach, the 841,000-square-foot Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, and Runway, an outdoor mall in Playa Vista.

[OCBJ] – Dana Bartholomew

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