Big Box Retail Site Rings Up $15.7 Mil

SANTA ANA, CA-A big box retail site has been bagged by a California investor for $15.7 million. Completed in the first quarter of 2001, the 155,245-sf Santa Ana property is occupied by two different tenants, Home Depot and Staples.

Home Depot occupies 131,848 sf at the 1750 E. Edinger address. The home improvement retailer holds a 30-year lease at the property, which stands on an 11.7-acre parcel. “This lease will provide a 30-year income stream from a tenant with S&P rated A+ credit,” says Ted Gibbons, president of Investment Realty Advisors, who brokered the transaction. “It’s like buying a bond.”

The property’s other tenant, Staples, leases the remaining portion of the building, which stands on a 2.6-acre parcel at 1760 E. Edinger. According to the terms of the 15-year agreement, the office supply retailer occupies 23,397 sf here.

Gibbons represented the seller, Dallas, TX-based North American Properties and the buyer, CA-based Waco Corp. He says the sale represents a recent trend on the part of investors to buy up properties that are leased by tenants with investment grade credits. “Basically, what’s happened with big box retail and the market in general, in light of the current economic conditions, is that there is a flight to quality,” Gibbons says.