Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), announced today the sale of City Avenue Center, a three-building, 20,220-square-foot service-oriented retail asset located on highly traveled City Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The property sold for $24.6 million, or $1,216 per square foot.
“Shadow-anchored by the top Target location in the Philadelphia metro area, the center attracted an astounding 1.9 million visits in the trailing 12 months, according to Placer.ai,” said Brad Nathanson, IPA senior managing director in Philadelphia. “The trophy asset is 100% occupied by highly sought-after retail brands, Chipotle, Verizon, Sleep Number, and a PNC Bank outparcel. New to the shopping center with a slated year-end opening is one of Chick-Fil-A’s first in-line stores in the greater Philadelphia MSA with no drive-through, which was an additional attraction for investors.” Nathanson, in collaboration with Washington, D.C.-based David Crotts, IPA director, and Dean Zang, IPA executive managing director, represented the seller, the original developer of the property, and secured the buyer, a Maryland-based family office.
“High-credit service retail strip centers are in strong demand from private and institutional investors,” Nathanson explained. “REITs have migrated capital into this investment class given their strong rental growth and minimal re-leasing costs as compared to power centers. Many have traded over the last two years, and there’s a clear uptick in the depth of the buyer pool for service-oriented centers given the rebound of customer traffic post-COVID.”
“Even in today’s quickly changing market, we were able to source multiple competitive offers prior to public marketing of this asset,” added Zang. “We are undoubtedly seeing a flight to quality.”
About Institutional Property Advisors (IPA)
Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) is a division of Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a leading commercial real estate services firm in North America. IPA’s combination of real estate investment and capital markets expertise, industry-leading technology, and acclaimed research offer customized solutions for the acquisition, disposition and financing of institutional properties and portfolios. For more information, please visit www.institutionalpropertyadvisors.com
