Newmark announces that it has arranged the $2.4 million sale of Fry’s Shops at Ellsworth, a four-unit multi-tenant retail center, in Mesa, AZ.
Newmark’s Senior Managing Directors Steve Julius and Jesse Goldsmith and Associate Chase Dorsett represented the developer and seller, Evergreen-Broadway & Ellsworth, LLC, an affiliated entity of Evergreen Devco, Inc. The 1031-exchange buyer, Stephen Burke, was represented by Cushman & Wakefield.
The 5,823-square-foot building, located at 439 South Ellsworth Road, is 100 percent occupied and consists of four tenants—Subway, Little Caesars, Pink Nails and Lotus Garden Restaurant. The property is shadow anchored by a recently remodeled Fry’s Marketplace grocery store.
“Shopping centers like Fry’s Shops at Ellsworth are still in strong demand because of the draw from the neighboring grocery store, a daily visit, essential goods use,” said Julius. “This particular building is remodeled with good restaurant and service uses, each with fresh five-year lease terms. It will provide simple stability for years to the new investor.”
This transaction marks the seventh grocery-shadow-anchored property the Newmark team has sold in last 18 months.
According to Newmark Research, Phoenix retail sales volume increased slightly in the third quarter of 2020 but is still below pre-COVID figures. The overall average cap rate remained at 7.1 percent while overall vacancy increased 40 basis points from 7.3 percent in second-quarter 2020 to 7.7 percent in third-quarter 2020. The vacancy rate is more than 250 basis points above the national index and is considered relatively low for the Phoenix market due to past years of oversupply. The expansion of drive thrus, discount retailers and grocers will continue to drive interest for both national and local investors.
