IRON HORSE center steams forward

Prospects are looking good for the Iron Horse Shopping Center in Sparks just a few weeks after Irvine, Calif.-based Shopoff Realty Investments closed on the purchase.

Plans are moving ahead to give the center a one million dollar-plus face lift with paint, a new parking lot and landscaping to “bring it back to a vibrant center,” said Roxanne Stevenson, senior vice president of retail services at Colliers International, Reno.

Stevenson brokered the sale of the property, which closed Feb. 18, and is representing the buyer as the listing broker for the shopping center.

Shopoff “specializes in this sort of turn around,” she said in a phone interview. “They’re the perfect buyer for this property.”

“This is an underutilized space in a growing market — an ideal combination for our experienced team of turnaround experts,” William Shopoff, the CEO of the investment company, said at the time the purchase was announced.

The Save Mart grocery store is not part the Shopoff purchase, but also will undergoing changes in the coming months. The grocery chain will convert the store to its budget label, FoodMaxx. That transition should happen at the same time as improvements to the shopping center as a whole, which Stevenson expects to take about four months.

“I’m excited about that too,” she said.

Shopoff Investments purchased the property at the corner of E. Prater Way and North McCarran Blvd. for $11.75 million. It’s been in receivership for several years, resulting in little attention paid to maintaining the center.

“Our strategy is always to uncover hidden or unrealized potential,” David Placek, Shopoff executive vice president, said in a written statement. “With this asset, we were able to capture a well-positioned center, at a great price based on current revenue. However, what makes this property really exciting is the upside to be captured by leasing the existing inline vacancy and the 100,000 square foot box.”

The big box is a former Target building that closed in 2008 when the Target in the Outlets at Sparks opened.

With only a few weeks since the purchase closed, there’s a lot of interest in the center. Subway and Metro PCS will open soon.

Stephenson said she’s expecting a letter of intent from a national company wanting to move into the out pad that once housed an Arby’s. She’s even in early talks with a company interested in the long-empty Target building.

Currently, the Iron Horse center is 33 percent occupied, but that’s misleading as it includes the empty Target building. The center has a strong core of long-time tenants.

“We’re not losing anyone,” said Stephenson, who is working on renewing a number of the leases.

Pizza Plus has been at the center for 22 years. Stevenson is talking to the business owner about expanding. Adam & Eve Hair & Nails has been in the center for 20 years, she said.

Additional tenants include Dollar General, Payless Shoes, Sizzler, Jack in the Box, El Pollo Loco, and many more.

Shopoff Realty Investments has 24-years experience turning commercial properties around and an aggregate value in excess of $4 billion, according to a press release.

The company has extensive investments in southern California and nationwide. Currently, the Iron Horse Shopping Center is its only investment in the northern Nevada market, but Stevenson said they are considering additional properties in the area.