Merlone Geier sells second Palmdale mall in a month

Deal worth $57M follows crosstown sale for nearly same price

Merlone Geier’s Peter Merlone and Brad Geier with 38003 47th Street East (Merlone Geier, LoopNet)
Merlone Geier’s Peter Merlone and Brad Geier with 38003 47th Street East (Merlone Geier, LoopNet)

Merlone Geier Partners has sold its second mall in the northern L.A. County city of Palmdale in a month.

The San Francisco-based firm sold a roughly 250,000-square-foot shopping center at 38003 47th Street East for $57 million, or about $230 per square foot, according to public property records filed with L.A. County. Merlone Geier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An entity linked to Riviera Center Management, a property manager based in Redondo Beach, bought the property using a $30.7 million loan from Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach, records show. Riviera did not respond to a request for comment.

About a month ago, Merlone Geier sold a 214,000-square-foot retail property at 39340 10th Street West — less than 8 miles from its most recent sale — for $57.3 million, or about $270 per square foot.

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The company bought the two properties in 2012 and 2013, records show, nearly doubling their money on both sales.

Tenants at the 47th Street property include CVS, Home Depot, Ross and PetSmart, as well as Hispanic grocery Vallarta Supermarkets. Home Depot has been a particularly attractive tenant for investors since the start of the pandemic.

Last year, a Home Depot marked the largest retail investment sale across Orange County, when a 225,000-square-foot store sold for $53 million. In September, the site of a Home Depot store in Glendale, traded for nearly $62 million, according to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

Other investment firms are looking to capitalize on retail properties in the Antelope Valley city of Palmdale. In May, Dallas-based Spirit Realty listed a 58,000-square-foot Smart & Final at 5038 West Avenue North for $25.6 million.