Grocery-anchored retail center in Hialeah sells for $43M

Longpoint Partners said it acquired the El Paraiso shopping center in Hialeah for $43.25 million.

Elpara Inc. and Elcanar Inc., both managed by Antonio Rodriguez and Jesus A. Gonzalez in Miami, sold the 136,295-square-foot shopping center at 1700 and 1800 W. 68th St. to Boston-based Longpoint Partners. The price equated to $317 a square foot.

It was built on the 9-acre site in two phases, starting in 1982 and finishing in 1991. It’s near the exit ramp of State Road 826/Palmetto Expressway.

According to Longpoint Partners, El Paraiso is 98% occupied, with tenants including the Sedano’s grocery store, University Healthcare, Regions Bank and Pet Supermarket. It noted 220,000 people live within a three-mile radius of the shopping center, and 93% of them are Hispanic.

“El Paraiso is a compelling opportunity to acquire a grocery-anchored shopping center that serves a large and growing population in one of the densest Latin American communities in the U.S.,” said Longpoint Managing Partner Dwight Angelini. “As the son of an Argentinian food broker, I know first-hand the importance that these specialty shopping centers hold for our ethnic communities. The growth of Asian and Latin American populations across the country presents a wonderful opportunity to invest in neighborhood grocery-anchored shopping centers to create a culturally relevant experience.”

This is the fourth shopping center anchored by an ethnic grocer that Longpoint Partners has acquired, including plazas in Pembroke Pines and Naranja Lakes.

Neighborhood retail centers in South Florida have mostly done well, as they face less competition from e-commerce than regional malls.

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