Primestor Pays $37M for Bay Area Shopping Center

Primestor Development has purchased Hilltop Plaza, a 245,921-square-foot retail center in the East Bay city of Richmond, Calif., for $36.5 million. The acquisition, marking the company’s entrance in the Northern California market, was arranged by JLL.

The previous owner was Madison International Realty, according to CommercialEdge data. The company had acquired the asset for $31.8 million back in 2002.

Since its inception, Primestor has invested more than $1 billion in urban, mixed-use real estate. In another recent deal, also brokered by JLL, Primestor has acquired the Esplanade Shopping Center, a nine-building, 357,000-square-foot grocery-anchored property in Oxnard, Calif.

An 88 percent leased retail center

Hilltop Plaza came online in 1996 on some 59 acres and includes 26 acres of undeveloped land. Besides actively negotiating with several prospective tenants, the new owner plans to revamp the retail center. SITE Centers handled leasing and property management prior to the sale.

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The shopping center was 88 percent leased at the time of closing. The property’s roster includes a diverse mix of national and regional retailers such as Ross Dress for Less, City Sports Club, dd’s Discounts and Century Theatres, among others, boasting a long-term average tenant occupancy of more than 18 years.

Located at 3190-4251 Klose Way, Hilltop Plaza is positioned along Interstate 80, in an area where the daily traffic count reaches approximately 190,000 vehicles, as reported by JLL. The retail center sees 3.2 million annual visits.

JLL’s Managing Directors Geoff Tranchina, Eric Kathrein, Gleb Lvovich and Warren McClean represented both parties in the transaction.