Optimus Properties recently secured $21.5 million in financing for Juanita Tate Marketplace, a 77,096-square-foot retail property in Florence. The Century City-based real estate investment firm first purchased the property 10 years ago.

Located at the intersection of East Slauson Avenue and East Central Avenue, the marketplace has averaged over 95% occupancy since its opening in 2014 and is currently 100% leased. Its anchor tenant, Northgate Market, accounts for more than half of the space. Additional tenants include CVS, Panda Express, Starbucks and Chase Bank.

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc represented Optimus in finalizing the five-year loan backed by institutional investors.

With 1.2 million Angelenos living within a five-mile radius, the property sees “high visibility and strong traffic flow,” according to JLL Director Alex Olson who cited this as a prime marker of the investment’s draw.

‘Fascinating history’

Named after Juanita Tate – an activist who fought for housing equity in South L.A. and founded the nonprofit Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles – the retail center has a long history. The marketplace was built on an old scrap metal plant and faced major hurdles getting off the ground including a legal battle following the city’s eminent domain-driven seizure of the property.

“The property has a fascinating history which included eminent domain development to remedy a longstanding food desert and a 17-year escrow process,” Olson said.

Prior to the Juanita Tate Marketplace, the closest grocery-anchored center to the neighborhood was 2.5 miles away, leaving residents with limited access.