Westwood Financial Corp. Makes Another Value-Add Retail Purchase

Oct. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Westwood Financial Corp., one of the largest owner-operators of shopping centers in the U.S., has purchased the 24,452-square-foot Crossroads of Tempe retail center in the Arizona town. It is the company’s latest transaction toward the company’s value-add program, to which it has earmarked $100 million in purchases.

“Crossroads of Tempe fits into our strategy to acquire distressed assets in these kinds of markets,” said Westwood Financial Executive VP Joe Dykstra, noting that WFC has recently purchased three additional notes and is in the process of foreclosing on each one. “This is the seventh such acquisition we’ve made in the past 12 months, as we continue seeking $1 million-$10 million strip centers in good locations.”

The 2004-built Crossroads of Tempe is at 315-325 W. Elliot Road and is 45-percent leased. With strong national tenants including Chase Bank, Massage Envy and AZ Bread Company as current tenants, Dykstra thinks the property has great lease-up potential.

“This asset has good in-place income with upside and sits at a busy intersection in an in-fill location with dense demographics,” Dykstra said.
Westwood purchased the property from CMBS Trust, which was represented by special services LNR Partners. It is the 16th property Westwood owns in the Tempe/Phoenix market and 19th overall in the state.

The acquisition follows Westwood’s recent purchase of the Stroh Ranch Retail Center, a 6,336-square-foot property at 12937 S. Parker Road in Parker, Colo.

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About Westwood Financial Corp.:
Westwood Financial Corp., is one of the largest privately held owner-operators of retail properties in the U.S., with a track record spanning 40 years. Based in Los Angeles with satellite offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Scottsdale, Ariz., the firm currently has a portfolio consisting of more than 100 shopping centers and retail properties in 24 metropolitan markets. Founded in 1970 by Steven Fogel and Howard Banchik, the firm has evolved into a fully integrated real estate company that acquires, leases, and manages its real estate portfolio. The firm implements an acquisition strategy that focuses primarily on mature neighborhood, grocery anchored shopping centers with portfolio holdings in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. For more information, please visit www.westfin.com.