Tricor Financial Corp. sold Cobblestone Commons shopping plaza west of Boynton Beach for $38 million, as the retail market shows signs of a rebound.
Property records show Winter Park-based Tricor, through affiliates Springs Equity and Cobblestone KT, sold the 88,456-square-foot retail center to Cobblestone USA, based in Coral Gables. The buyer borrowed $22.8 million from UBS to finance the purchase.
Cobblestone Commons spans 12 acres at 8767 Boynton Beach Boulevard. Built in 2019, the plaza is anchored by a 24,800-square-foot Winn-Dixie that opened in November. It replaced an Earth Fare, as the organic grocer has liquidated most of its assets following a bankruptcy filing in February 2020.
Other Cobblestone tenants include PetSmart, Club Pilates, Sport Clips Haircuts and Lang Realty.
Tricor, led by Marc Hagle, has built over 10.5 million square feet of commercial real estate and thousands of residential units, according to its website.
Buyer Cobblestone USA is linked to Isidoro Attie Laniado, executive vice president of strategy and finance at Mexico-based Fibra Uno Administracion SA real estate investment trust. Laniado is director of A Group Beach Corp., an affiliate of Cobblestone USA.
Palm Beach County’s retail market started to improve late last year. In the fourth quarter, the average asking rent increased 3 percent to $23 per square foot, and the vacancy rate dropped 0.1 percent to 5.2 percent, compared to the third quarter, according to a Colliers International report.
The county scored some notable investment sales last quarter. In December, London-based Motcomb Estates bought the Tiffany & Co. building on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue from Fortress Investment Group, Hyde Retail Partners and Kean Development for $26.4 million.
Also in December, Rosemurgy Properties sold a Pompano Beach shopping center for $10 million, and Pebb Enterprises sold a West Palm Beach Tesla dealership for $13 million in October.