A vacant retail center in South Orange County that once housed a nationally-branded Italian restaurant chain has been sold.
The former home of Macaroni Grill at Aliso Viejo Town Center was bought by ValueRock Realty Partners for $5.3 million. Hanley Investment Group brokered the sale of the 7,914-square-foot free-standing retail pad building that sat on 1.34 acres at the Aliso Viejo retail center.
The seller was a private investor from Southwest Florida.
“We generated multiple qualified offers from Southern California developers and users, ultimately securing an experienced buyer,” Hanley Investment Group Vice President Sean Cox said in a statement.
ValueRock, in a statement, said the former Macaroni Grill location is an “opportunity to increase its portfolio of commercial properties.” The company did not announce its plans for the standalone building.
The Irvine-based real estate company that specializes in property investments and operations is working on remodeling a nearby building formerly occupied by Lowe’s for Tesla and 99 Ranch Market.
Hanley Investment Group said a 343-unit housing development is proposed to be built across the street from Aliso Viejo Town Center. Partners on the development, called Avalon Aliso Viejo, include AvalonBay Communities, ValueRock Realty, TCA Architects and C2 Collaborative.
Aliso Viejo Town Center, a 380,000-square-foot retail center located at 26641 Aliso Creek Road, was built in 1997 and is anchored by CVS, Home Goods, PetSmart, Ralphs, Regal Cinemas, Staples and TJ Maxx.
Other tenants include Advance Auto Parts, Barnes & Noble, Dollar Tree, Hoag Health Center, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Chick-fil-A, Chase Bank, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Del Taco, Panda Express, Sgt. Peperoni’s Pizza, Subway and Wahoo’s Fish Taco.
The sale of the Macaroni Grill building is the latest deal for Hanley Investment Group at Aliso Viejo Town Center. The Corona del Mar-based real estate investment firm also brokered the sale of a two-floor, 24,986-square-foot retail and medical building at the center for $9.4 million in September.
ValueRock Realty Partners was founded by David Lee more than 30 years ago and now has $30 billion in transactions in asset management, developments, financing, investments, leasing and operations.
Its portfolio includes Hawaii Kai Towne Center in Honolulu, Moulton Plaza in Laguna Hills, Irvine Village Center in Irvine, Mel’s Drive-In in Santa Monica, a Chipotle in Syracuse, New York and the Denny’s in Dana Point.
Hanley Investment Group, meanwhile, has engaged in more than $11 million worth of transactions by selling retail properties across the country.
Hanley’s executive vice presidents Bill Asher and Kevin Fryman, along with Cox, represented both the buyer and seller.
