Longpoint Partners, a real estate private equity firm based in Boston, purchased the Grand Covina Plaza in the San Gabriel Valley for $25 million in a deal that closed May 16.
The 111,975-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center is home to a Stater Bros Market, Dollar Tree, KFC, 7-Eleven and O’Reilly Auto Parts and is currently at 89% occupancy.
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., a real estate and financial advisory services firm that represented the seller in the deal, pointed to the area’s high density with 180,000 people within three miles of the center as an advantage to the property.
Dan Tyner, managing director at JLL, also highlighted the site’s upside potential through lease-up of vacant suites.
“Grand Covina Plaza generated significant interest resulting in double digit offer counts and strong overall feedback from the market,” Tyner said in a statement. “Grocery-anchored retail coupled with its unique upside potential made Grand Covina Plaza a great opportunity for investors.”
Additionally, Geoff Tranchina, senior managing director at JLL, said the plaza was “a prime investment opportunity” due to its “infill location, strong anchor tenants and potential for NOI (net operating income) growth.”
JLL views grocery-anchored retail centers as particularly lucrative right now, asserting that this sector will be resilient to the impact of e-commerce, deeming it “a defensive sector that will deliver stable returns through adverse economic environments.”
A few weeks ago, the firm facilitated the $22 million refinancing of a Florence retail center, Juanita Tate Marketplace – a 77,096-square-foot retail property that is 100% leased.
Low vacancy rates
Overall, the San Gabriel Valley has one of the lowest retail vacancy rates within Greater Los Angeles, sitting at 4.8% according to JLL’s 2025 retail report for the first quarter. Meanwhile, the total Greater Los Angeles market saw a vacancy rate of 5.8% during the same time period, with areas like downtown and West L.A. seeing even higher vacancy rates of 9.4% and 8.1%, respectively.
The San Gabriel Valley area is also seeing a slight positive annual rent growth of 0.8%, while the overall Los Angeles market is negative 0.4%.
On the other hand, the San Gabriel Valley has seen negative net absorption since the start of the year with negative 192,158 square feet absorbed, which can be an indicator of decline in demand.
Comparatively, the San Fernando Valley saw a net absorption of negative 107,652 square feet and the Santa Clarita Valley saw a positive net absorption of 52,557 square feet.
