Space Investment Partners, the real estate investment, development and management company owned by Orange County entrepreneur Mark Moshayedi, completed a potentially record-breaking deal for a retail center in Fullerton.
The purchase price was not disclosed, but Space Investment Partners’ acquisition of Fullerton Metrocenter looks to be the most expensive retail deal in years in Orange County and is perhaps the most expensive retail deal ever in Fullerton.
A retail property in Fullerton could trade for $423 per square foot, according to market data, meaning the 431,214-square-foot retail center potentially sold for a Business Journal estimate of $182 million. By comparison, Continental Realty bought South Coast Collection/SOCO, a retail center in Costa Mesa, for $110 million, or $377 per square foot, in 2023.
The deal would be significantly more expensive than what Moshayedi’s Space Investment earned when it sold the 40,000-square-foot Westport Plaza & Square in Costa Mesa earlier this year for $25.7 million.
Newport Beach-based Mx3 Ventures, owned by Mark’s brother Manouch Moshayedi, paid nearly $56 million for Yorba Linda Town Center in March—at the time—the most expensive retail deal this year in Orange County.
A La Palma-based investor doled out $24.5 million to buy Warner Marketplace, a four-property retail portfolio in Fountain Valley, in March.
Blackstone Inc. paid $4 billion to buy a San Diego real estate investment trust, in a February deal that transferred ownership of 93 retail properties to the giant asset manager but only eight of those properties were in Orange County.
Most retail deals in Orange County have traded in the $10 million to $15 million range.
Fullerton Metrocenter
While CoStar listed the deal as completed, a Space Investment spokesman said it’s expected to close in a week or so.
The Fullerton Metrocenter portfolio bought by Space Investment Partners features 11 retail properties, ranging in size from 2,304 square feet to 192,050 square feet. The largest property is at 200 W. Orangethorpe Ave. and its tenants are Target and Starbucks.
Sprouts Farmers Market anchors the 156,163-square-foot property at 1337-1545 S. Harbor Blvd. Other tenants at the property include Urban Air Adventure Park and PetSmart.
Other tenants within the 11-property Fullerton Metrocenter portfolio include Lotteria Burger, Super Mex, Fred Loya Insurance Agency, Denny’s and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
A CBRE report on Orange County’s retail market showed that investment in shopping centers was trending in a positive direction through the first few months of 2025.
Total retail investment sales for the first quarter of 2025 reached $283 million, more than the $224 million reported for the final three months of 2024. Sales volume for retail investments in Orange County increased for three consecutive quarters heading into the spring of this year, according to CBRE.
Marcus & Millichap, in its market forecast for 2025, said investor activity is up across Orange County retail sector.
“More move-ins are slated for this year, while redevelopments like Santa Ana’s Metro Town Square will remove vacant stock from the market. This demand growth, along with potential removals and restrained construction, will allow Orange County to retain its status as California’s least vacant major retail market,” Marcus & Millichap researchers said in their forecast.
The Marcus & Millichap forecast noted that Irvine would likely be Orange County’s strongest retail market, thanks to the city’s pipeline of multifamily units and improving office occupancy.
Newport Beach and West Orange County were also identified by Marcus & Millichap as top retail markets within Orange County.
