Velocity Retail Group’s Dave Cheatham, Darren Pitts, and Eli Castronova, along with Faris Lee Investments’ Don MacLellan and Richard Chichester represented the Seller, Augusta Ranch, LLC. in a $12,500,000 shopping center sale of Augusta Ranch Marketplace, located at 9911-9931 E. Baseline Road in Mesa, Arizona.  The 83,743 square foot shopping center is anchored by Bashas’ and many daily needs restaurants, shops, and service providers. The buyer was a 1031 Southern California investor who was represented by Daum Commercial .

“We were pleased to be able to complete this transaction for our seller. It was a true team effort between our two companies throughout the process,” said Eli Castronova, Senior Vice President of Velocity Retail Group. “The property is situated in an established area in the southeast valley and accessible to the new Eastmark master-planned community as well as major employers.”

Don MacLellan, Senior Managing Partner with Faris Lee Investments added, “The key to our marketing strategy was to focus on the strength of one of the largest master-planned communities in the US with significant residential and industrial growth for years to come. With our unparalleled proprietary database and active 1031 tracking system, we were able to generate strong offer activity. We also actively engaged with the lender to ensure high certainty of closing despite the impact of the pandemic on the lending community. Bringing the transaction to a successful close of escrow during the pandemic was a huge win for both buyer and seller.”

The sale represented one of the few grocery-anchored transactions in the metropolitan Phoenix market during 2020 and was the only Bashas’ anchored center sold during that time. The pandemic has limited investment sales for multi-tenant retail properties, but the strength of this location was a key component for the buyer to add to their investment portfolio.