UPDATED, Jan. 21, 2:10 p.m.: A gas station investor is now fueling up on retail by acquiring a two-building shopping plaza in Kendall for $26 million.
Miami-based Westar Oil Company bought Shoppes At Hidden Lake at 12700 Southwest 128th Street in Miami-Dade County, according to Margot Chamot, a broker who was involved in the sale.
Adrian Builders, a Kendall-based commercial real estate firm founded by principal Alvaro Adrian, sold the 66,000-square-foot retail center. In 2017, Adrian Builders bought the 4.5-acre property for $3.3 million and completed the two two-story buildings a year later, according to records.
Chomat, of County Line Realty, told The Real Deal that Shoppes At Hidden Lake is 99 percent leased, with only two vacant retail spaces. Tenants include Ultimate Medical Center & Spa, Magic City Perks coffee shop, Rinconcito Miami #5 restaurant, U Beauty Bar and Backdoor Miami consignment shop.
“The buyer was looking for mom-and-pop shopping centers,” Chomat said. “We drove by some properties and came across this one. I called Alvaro Adrian. We negotiated right then and there, and two days later, we were under contract.”
Cary Cohen of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented the seller.
Westar Oil Company is owned by Thomas Pequeno, according to state corporate records. Chomat said Westar owns several Westar gas stations in South Florida.
Open-air shopping centers are becoming hot real estate assets in South Florida. Earlier this month, Dallas-based Spectrum Properties bought a Doral shopping center anchored by an Aldi for $22.1 million, and Wharton Realty Group dropped $82 million for a fully leased shopping center in Homestead.
Last month, MMG Equity Partners paid $17 million for Plantation Community Plaza, a shopping center in Plantation; AEW Capital Management bought the fully leased Shops at Beacon Lakes near Dolphin Mall for $108 million; and Germany’s Union Investment picked up a Publix-anchored, fully leased shopping center in Boynton Beach for $79.5 million.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the buyer based on incorrect information provided by the broker.