4 Former California Sears Stores Trade Hands With Redevelopment Likely On Horizon

Four former Sears stores traded hands from a single seller in cities across California, which included Fairfield, Sacramento, Salinas and Ventura. Terms of the transaction, announced Nov. 21, were not disclosed, but JLL Capital Markets closed the sale of the four properties. 

The purchase illustrates the continued demand for retail space as available inventory continues to hit all-time lows. Developers and investors are scrambling for retail redevelopment opportunities nationwide, with former big-box locations becoming a prime target.  

The properties were acquired by various California private investors according to a press release from JLL. The properties include: 

• 1420 Travis Blvd. in Fairfield, a 115K SF box space.

• 3295 East Main St. and 3310 Telegraph Road in Ventura, a 164K SF box space.

• 1700 North Main St. in Salinas, a 138K SF box space.

• 5901 Florin Road in Sacramento, a 241K SF box space.

“With limited big-box vacancy in core markets and competition for infill sites from other sectors like industrial and multi-housing, the demand for prime redevelopment sites has never been greater,” JLL Managing Director Gleb Lvovich said in a press release.

Sears and Seritage Growth Properties, a company established in 2015 to manage the department store's retail properties, have been selling off properties across the country in recent months. 

The once-mighty Sears that has been present in American life for nearly 130 years is facing what could be its last holiday shopping season, with fewer than two dozen stores in operation, Bloomberg reported.