In late November, Colliers announced the sale of El Monte Shopping Plaza, located at 8841 N. 19th Ave., to Lena Centers, a division of Longpoint – a Boston-based investor. The grocery-anchored shopping center was 99 percent leased by ASI Real Estate at the time of sale with 15 tenants.
“El Monte was originally built as a grocery-anchored center in 1962,” said Mindy Korth, executive vice president with Colliers. “Since then, for more than 60 years, the center has been continuously serving its community as a grocery-anchored center, maintaining excellent occupancy.”
Korth and JK Jackson with Colliers in Phoenix worked in conjunction with El Warner and Caitlin Zirpolo of Colliers in Irvine, CA to handle the sale, which included approximately 101,269 square feet of retail space on an 8.8-acre site.
Built in 1962, El Monte Shopping Plaza has benefitted from a variety of renovations since its construction. Anchored by El Rancho Market IGA, a grocery store offering customers traditional and authentic Mexican and Hispanic groceries, including vegetables and produce, meats, spices, and canned goods, the center’s additional tenants include dd’s Discounts, Shoe Palace, ArchWell Health, Cute Smiles dentistry, Cricket Wireless and Baskin Robbins.
Situated adjacent to the most-used light rail station in Metro Phoenix, the shopping plaza has more than 164,293 people living within a three-mile radius of the property, with approximately 85,000 vehicles driving by the retail center each day.
A press release noted that the Lena Centers brand “is committed to transforming grocery-anchored shopping centers into vibrant, culturally relevant gathering places.” And a Colliers representative said that the new owners intend to keep all of the existing tenants, adding that “The buyer has plans to invest in some improvements at the center, but will not be redeveloping.”
