Village Del Amo, a 166,365-square foot grocery-anchored retail center in Torrance, recently traded for $108.5 million in the largest retail sale of last year for the South Bay market.
DJM Capital Group offloaded the asset which it first acquired in 2004. NAI Capital Commercial, an Encino-based real estate firm, represented the undisclosed buyer in the transaction.
Located at 21201-21327 Hawthorne Blvd., Village Del Amo is anchored by Korean grocer Hannam Chain with additional tenants including BevMo, U.S. Bank, Benihana and many others. At the time of the purchase, the asset was 92.3% leased with a 6.12% in-place capitalization rate. NAI touted the center’s traffic presence, with about 99,000 vehicles driving by daily and 3.5 million direct visits over the last year.
David Shaby III, vice president of the investment services group in NAI’s South Bay office, said this deal speaks to the strength of grocery-anchored retail in the market.
“Village Del Amo combines irreplaceable real estate, dense demographics and a tenant roster that continues to drive consistent leasing demand,” he said in a statement. “We have seen a clear resurgence of interest from institutional capital targeting necessity-based retail, particularly where fundamentals support long-term income durability and downside protection.”
‘Next phase’
The South Bay submarket hosts nearly 60 million square feet of retail space and had a 6.9% vacancy rate, according to quarter three research from CBRE. While this is slightly lower than the county’s average of 6.3%, South Bay beats out quite a few major markets including downtown at 8.4%, the Westside at 9.1% and Hollywood/Wilshire at 8.9%.
Following the sale, Stefan Neumann – also a vice president of the investment services group in NAI’s South Bay office – said the firm will stay on in an advisory capacity to close some of the property’s vacancy gaps.
“We look forward to continuing to advise our client in the next phase of Village Del Amo as the focus turns to attracting new high-quality credit tenants to address the remaining vacancies at the property,” Neumann said.
A few streets over at 3405 W. Carson St., a new residential housing project has been approved and cleared for construction. Encompassing 260 housing units, the project stands to enhance Village Del Amo’s foot traffic once complete.
“Being natives of the South Bay, David and I are honored to have successfully helped represent a prominent local family in the acquisition of one of the most notable retail shopping centers in the South Bay submarket,” Neumann said.
