Sparks Galleria purchased by Illinois realty investor

A Chicago-area real estate company hopes to provide a fresh start to major shopping center in Sparks.

Pine Tree Commercial Realty said last week it purchased Sparks Galleria for $26.2 million. Although the 633,498-square-foot center is anchored by Costco and Home Depot stores, those two big boxes weren’t part of the deal.

The center at Pyramid Highway and Disc Drive is 43 percent vacant as tenants closed during the recession. Existing tenants include Starbucks, Office Depot, Qdoba, GNC and Gamestop.

Executives of Pine Tree Commercial Real Estate were drawn to the center by its good location, strong and anchors and substantial upside potential, said Michael Cleeman of New York’s Cohen Real Estate, who represented the buyer.

He said Pine Tree already has nailed down a lease for one of the larger spaces in Sparks Galleria, and he said the company is considering possible development of another 20,000 square feet of retail space.

The seller, a private investor in North Carolina, was represented by Rick Kaiser of Cohen Real Estate. Kaiser said the previous owner felt unable to give the center the attention it needs.

Headquartered at Northbook, Ill., Pine Tree Commercial Realty owns about 20 shopping centers totaling 1.9 million square feet in multiple markets.

The privately held company’s leasing strategy focuses on national and retail tenants, who account for more than 90 percent of its tenants.

NNBW staff