Bridgeside Shopping Center

Challenge

Bridgeside Shopping Center in Alameda, is a ±105,000 square-foot shopping center that sold for $48.5M.  The seller was a high profile institutional client that wanted core pricing.  The center was anchored by Knob Hill Grocer, a Raley’s brand that at the time did not have a credit rating and very private financial statements.

There were three grocery anchored centers on the island of Alameda with stronger sales performance than Knob Hill.  The property contained an atypical layout with some second floor office space, in addition there were several tenants in violation of the grocer’s use restrictions.

We were tasked with navigating the new ordinance of the private sewer lateral program to make sure it closed on time and didn’t cost our client any additional money (East Bay Private Sewer Lateral Program).

Strategy

We reached out to high probability institutional buyers prior to taking the asset out to market.  This was done to overcome the grocer’s lack of credit and highlight the strong cost of occupancy as the grocer was paying below market rent.  We could leverage interest generated prior to going to market to get buyers to compete in three different rounds.  We wanted to execute a controlled process with a call for offers, best and final, and buyer interviews to try to max out final terms.

Results

Despite the immediate competition in Alameda, we generated 13 offers and invited 3 buyers to the best and final round.

We closed with an institutional buyer at $2M above where the majority of the other offers came in.
 

This transaction was a record breaking cap rate for a San Francisco grocery anchored shopping centers at 4.9%.