A Medford shopping center has sold to a California real estate investor for $25.25 million.

Bear Creek Plaza is anchored by retailers Bi-Mart, Dollar Tree and Crunch Fitness. The 189,670-square-foot shopping center is adjacent to Interstate 5, and near Rogue Valley Mall and Providence Medford Medical Center.

The buyer was an entity linked to Citivest Inc., a Newport Beach, California, real estate investment company. The sale equates to approximately $133 per square foot.

Bear Creek Plaza is “the dominant shopping center in the Medford trade area,” stated Clayton Brown, senior managing director with the Brown Retail Group of Marcus & Millichap. The brokerage represented the seller and procured the buyer. Brown was joined by Marcus & Millichap’s Ruthanne Loar and David Tabata in the transaction.

The seller was Bear Creek Partners I, a limited liability company with members in Bend and in California, according to Oregon Secretary of State business records.

“Bear Creek Plaza has been a well-performing asset for the seller throughout its ownership and offers the buyer a future repositioning opportunity with the five pad buildings included in the sale,” Loar stated in a news release. “There were challenges throughout the transaction, including the loss of an anchor tenant with the Big Lots bankruptcy declaration. Our team was able to quickly source a new grocer tenant to fill that vacancy, and the property was 100 percent leased at the time of the sale.”

Big Lots, a discount retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2024.

Built in 1977 on nearly 17 acres, Bear Creek Plaza has many longtime tenants, with more than 50 percent of the gross leasable area occupied by tenants with more than 10 years in place.

Since the start of 2023, Marcus & Millichap and the Brown Retail Group of Marcus & Millichap have completed 69 shopping center and net-lease investment transactions in Oregon totaling nearly $220 million, stated Joel Deis, first vice president and regional manager.

The post Medford’s Bear Creek Plaza sells for $25.25 million appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Developer Walt Bowen has unloaded a long-held multifamily property in Portland’s West Hills for $80.75 million.

Prime Residential snapped up the 261-unit Sunset Summit Apartments. The sale equates to $309,387 per unit. BPM Real Estate Group was the seller.

“The sale represents the first time the property has traded hands in over 25 years,” Anthony Palladino, vice president of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, stated in a news release. “Sunset Summit is a unique asset, featuring low-density construction with views of the Tualatin Valley from most units.”

Palladino and IPA’s Giovanni Napoli, Philip Assouad, Ryan Dinius and Sidney Warsinske represented the seller. BPM is also the developer of the 35-story Block 216 Ritz-Carlton project in downtown Portland, among other real estate ventures.

Sunset Summit, at 7400 S.W. Barnes Road, was built in 1989 on 31 acres and renovated in 2014, IPA stated in a news release. The complex is located close to Sunset Corridor employers Nike and Intel, and within a short drive from downtown Portland.

Prime Residential, based in Los Angeles, holds three other multifamily properties in the Portland area: Rock Creek 185, The Frank Estate and Wimbledon Square.

The post West Hills apartment complex purchased appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The saga of the Strohecker’s grocery store building continues, with the owners now looking to lease the property after a sale listing drew no satisfactory offers.

The Southwest Portland property is being offered for lease by Richard Freimark of Meridian Trust Real Estate Services Inc. Previously, it was offered for sale through Marcus & Millichap.

“We’ve simply been hired to find a grocery store operator for that site, and to provide a high-quality grocery experience for people who live in the West Hills,” Freimark said.

Strohecker’s served the surrounding West Hills neighborhood from 1902 to Jan. 31, 2016, when it closed. The store was known for a wide selection of high-end grocery staples and an impressive stock of wine bottles.

The property borders Portland Heights Park and carries a land-use restriction that it must be used as a grocery store; also, the existing 19,776-square-foot building cannot be expanded. The restriction dates to 1984, when the Strohecker family agreed to the provision with the city of Portland in exchange for permission to expand the building, and for a zoning change from residential to neighborhood commercial.

The agreement is now tying the hands of the current owners, who are trying to market the property.

“We’ve talked to the city about doing mixed use, and their response is right now you can only do grocery,” Freimark said.

A change in zoning would require the City Council’s approval.

The owners requested an informational meeting with staff from the city’s Bureau of Development Services on Aug. 24 to inquire about changing use. An attorney representing the owners said they were interested in removing the land-use restriction while retaining the underlying neighborhood commercial zoning.

The Southwest Hills Residential League is tracking the property’s twists and turns. The neighborhood association plans to discuss it at an Oct. 18 general membership meeting.

“Unlike most Portland neighborhoods, the Southwest Hills is a bedroom community with almost no commercial amenities, very low walkability scores, limited transit hours, steep hills between us and the nearest markets, and now no grocery and attendant services in the heart of our neighborhood,” Nancy Seton, president of the neighborhood association, said in an email message.

It’s important to neighbors that the property be used as a food retailer, Seton said.

At its height, Strohecker’s had a pharmacy, a liquor store, a fishmonger, a butcher, a bakery and an espresso service. It also included a post office.

Independent grocery stores have struggled to compete with fast-growing chains. Stores such as New Seasons, Zupan’s and Whole Foods have added competition for high-income customers, while Walmart and other large-format stores are in a cutthroat fight for budget customers.

The neighborhood surrounding the Strohecker’s property has favorable demographics: 57 percent of the population has a household income of greater than $100,000, and 64 percent of residents own their homes, Freimark said.

“It’s a strong enough demographic to support a high-end grocery experience,” he said. Strohecker’s formerly delivered to the neighborhood, making a grocery delivery service a good fit, he said.

The property at 2855 S.W. Patton Road is owned by Tim Sotoodeh and Southwest Hills LLC, based in Santa Ana, California. It includes the building and more than an acre of land. Records show Southwest Hills LLC purchased the property for $5.4 million in 2012.

The post Ex-Strohecker’s property stuck in limbo appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.