Solana Beach Retail Center Fetches $33.25M
BeachWalk, a 54,973 SF coastal retail center in Solana Beach, has been acquired by an institutional fund manager in Chicago for $33.25M, or about $605/SF. Along Highway 101, this coastal retail center is just steps to the Pacific Ocean and in walking distance of Solana Beach’s Cedros Design District and the Coaster/Amtrak train station and less than a mile from the famous Del Mar Fairgrounds, site of the Del Mar Racetrack and San Diego County Fair.
“There are few alternatives in this immediate area and coastal areas in general for tenants seeking more traditional retail center space with adequate on-site parking, keeping occupancy levels high,” said John Read, of CBRE’s National Retail Partners-West team, in a statement.
“Based on the property’s configuration, strong historical occupancy, improving tenancy and upward-trending rents in this highly affluent trade area, where average household income exceeds $142K, Beachwalk is a trophy asset in a coastal location that will maintain its dominant market position for years to come,” he said.
He said true coastal retail projects like BeachWalk seldom come to market.
Built in 1993, BeachWalk is on a 3.06-acre site at 437 South Highway 101. According to Read, the CBRE team’s marketing system distributed more than 540 offering memoranda to investors and brokers, and through the team’s managed bid offer process, generated eight offers to purchase the property. Tenants include California Pizza Kitchen, Alfonso’s of La Jolla, Rubio’s Coastal Grill and Banfield Pet Hospital.
Read, along with team members Philip Voorhees, Jimmy Slusher, Kirk Brummer and San Diego senior vice president Reg Kobzi, repped the seller, a partnership managed by the Orange County-based investment firm The Muller Co. The buyer was also represented by CBRE’s NRP-West team.
Solana Beach retail properties carry a high price tag due to the coastal location and the city’s high barriers to entry. Last year another Solana Beach trophy property, the 8K SF Gateway @ Cedro, a trophy property in the Cedros Design District anchored by Peets Coffee, was sold to a Canadian REIT by Hanley Investment Group for $837/SF. The Cedros Design District, which is known for its historic, World War II Quonset hut buildings, is Solana’s Beach’s quaint commercial district.
