$64M deal for Glendale retail center bodes well for big-box

A Glendale shopping center has sold from one out-of-state investor to another in a deal that offers some indicator of the way forward for big-box retail.

EB Arrow, a commercial real estate firm based in Dallas, sold the 154,000-square-foot retail property to Chicago-based retail investor Pine Tree for $64.1 million, according to an announcement from JLL this week. JLL’s Gleb Lvovich and Bryan Ley brokered the sale on behalf of EB Arrow.

The deal came out to around $416 per square foot.

EB Arrow bought the 1998-built building at 106 South Brand Boulevard from a group of tenants for an undisclosed sum in 2013, records show. The property is now around 95 percent leased, to tenants including Old Navy, Ross Dress for Less and HomeGoods.

Pine Tree’s purchase was also one of the largest retail deals of 2021, though it closed in December.

Lvovich said JLL was “bullish” on big-box retail in urban areas, given how retailers can use stores for in-person sales, as well as for returns and last-mile fulfillment operations.

Though retail as an asset class has struggled during the pandemic, investors have stayed attracted to properties with home goods, grocery and daily necessity stores such as Target, Walmart or chain grocers.

A Home Depot store in Glendale also topped last year’s top retail sales. In August, Local investment firm Charing Cross Partners bought a 111,600-square-foot Home Depot at 5040 San Fernando Road for $62 million — around $553 per square foot. Decron Properties sold the property in August.

The property includes a 94,530-square-foot Home Depot store and a 17,094-square-foot outdoor garden sales area.