Blaine Commercial Real Estate
Upgrading and reinvigorating the Blaine mall will revitalize the Blaine area. Now is the time to invest in Blaine commercial real estate, as prices will likely respond to the improvements.
Company to ‘polish’ Blaine Mall
JARED PABEN
BLAINE— a company that specializes in buying and reinvigorating strip malls that “need some spit and polish” has purchased the mall along H Street east of Pacific Highway, a company official said.
The 127,572-square-foot retail mall, anchored by a 43,550-square-foot Cost Cutter store, was purchased by Phillips Edison and Company, which plans to first focus on leasing now-empty commercial spaces.
“Think of a center that has a grocery store and 20 stores, that’s what we’re seeing here,” said Hal Scudder, the company’s vice president for western acquisitions. “We’re not seeing that you’re going to have a center with a big Target.”
The company, which owns 155 shopping centers nationwide, has purchased nine other properties in the West over the past year, with most in Oregon, Utah and New Mexico, Scudder said.
The company operates malls in smaller markets that have potential for growth.
The Blaine Center, built in 1990, is the first the company has purchased in Washington State.
“We think it has a lot of potential,” Scudder said. “We’re looking forward to bringing some new tenants to Blaine and working with the existing tenants in the center.”
The company leases to both national and smaller local companies, he said. But it wouldn’t make sense to bring a large national store, like Wal-Mart; to the mall because there wouldn’t be enough space and Scudder’s company prefers a mix of small- and medium-size tenants.
Gail Kruk, president of the Blaine Chamber of Commerce said, "Anything that brings more business to Blaine is excellent."
“We need to fill up those spaces,” she said. “It’s not a good look when people drive through Blaine or come to the mall and half the store fronts are empty.” |