A California investor bought a relatively new Lincoln Park shopping center that was marketed as a potential redevelopment opportunity. Westwood Financial paid $27.7M to buy Kingsbury Center at 1415-1435 North Kingsbury St. from a joint venture of DDR and Blackstone Group.

As part of the deal, Westwood assumed an existing $14.5M securitized loan on the property. The DDR-Blackstone venture paid $20.6M for the 53K SF property in October 2014, according to Cook County records.

HFF, which marketed the property for the seller, presented Kingsbury Center as a redevelopment opportunity. The center is fully occupied and the average weighted lease term is 5.7 years, so Westwood can collect rent as a covered land play through 2023, then redevelop the property as either residential or mixed-use. With the city relaxing zoning restrictions within the North Branch Industrial Corridor, it is now easier to make either option a reality.

HFF's Amy Sands and Clinton Mitchell represented DDR and Blackstone Group.