Core pays $19M for shopping center near FIU

Core paid $19 million for a shopping plaza near Florida International University’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus in west Miami-Dade County.

The Miami-based real estate investor, through an affiliate, bought the retail property at 9720 Southwest Eighth Street from two sellers tied to Miami-based Orion Real Estate Group, records show.

The seller bought the 60,692-square-foot retail center in 2014 for $13.4 million. It was built in 1966 on 4.7 acres, according to property records.

Tenants include a Goodwill store, an AutoZone Auto Parts, a CVS and money transfer service MoneyGram. The property is in the unincorporated Miami-Dade neighborhood of University Park.

Core, led by Adam Greenberg and Michael Lapointe, invests mainly in office and retail real estate, with a focus on adding value to properties in secondary markets, according to its website. It owns and operates 1 million square feet across the Southeast.

In March 2020, Core, together with Miami Beach-based TRG SBV II Owner LLC, bought two industrial properties, a retail center and a bank branch in Miami Gardens for $33.6 million.

Orion Real Estate, founded in 1978 by Executive Chairman Joseph Sanz, has a $1 billion commercial real estate portfolio in the U.S. and Canada, according to its website. Aside from investment, the group also has brokerage, capital sourcing and development arms. It also works on deal structuring and sale-leasebacks.

In March, Orion bought a Pinecrest office and retail center at 12651 South Dixie Highway for $32 million.

In other recent retail deals in unincorporated Miami-Dade, self-storage provider A+ Storage in April bought an Aldi-anchored shopping center in West Kendall for $22.4 million.