Town & Country Shopping Center and three neighboring commercial buildings have been purchased for $11 million, says Dave Black, CEO of Spokane-based commercial real estate brokerage NAI Black and Black Realty Management.

The five-acre shopping center property is located at 816 W. Francis, at the northeast corner of the Francis Avenue-Monroe Street intersection in North Spokane.

Spokane-based Francis Monroe LLC, a separate real estate entity managed by Black, purchased the 72,000-square-foot retail property from Town & Country Shopping Center LLC last month. The $9 million purchase includes a parking lot and a 1,900-square-foot commercial building at 802 W. Francis — occupied by Spokane-based Atilano’s Mexican Food, Black says. 

Francis Monroe LLC also purchased a 3,500-square-foot Safeway Fuel Station facility southwest of the shopping center at 906 W. Francis, for $1 million from Spokane-based Foothills Mini Storage Inc., he says. 

Additionally, Spokane-based Off Wall LLC, another real estate entity governed by Black, purchased a 4,500-square-foot commercial building southeast of the shopping center at 6319 N. Wall, from Town & Country Shopping Center LLC in January for $1 million, says Black.

Black represented the buyers in the transaction along with Chris Bell, Andrew Black, Creighton Morfitt, and James S. Black III, also of NAI Black. Both Francis Monroe LLC and Off Wall LLC purchases were facilitated with a group of investors.

The shopping center, anchored by a Safeway grocery store, has 13 tenants and 100% occupancy, according to a press release from NAI Black. Other tenants in the shopping center include Francis Avenue Hardware LLC, which does business as Ace on Francis; Vapor LLC, which does business as Vapor Lounge #12; and Kelsey & Company General Contracting LLC, all of which are based in Spokane.

Tenants of the commercial building at 6319 N. Wall include three Spokane-based businesses: Five Mile Glass LLC; Alteration Center; and Hot Rod Barbershop, a trade name for Warford, James D. 

Black Realty Management will manage the properties going forward, Dave Black says. 

The sale reflects sustained investor demand for necessity-based, grocery-anchored retail assets in stable neighborhood locations throughout the Inland Northwest, the release states.

"In my 45 years of business, I've never seen a transaction that was quite the win-win for both buyer and seller that this was," he contends.

The shopping center was built in 1959, with five further extensions constructed between 1970 and 1977, according to information on record with Spokane County. The fuel center was constructed in 2001, and the commercial building at 6319 N. Wall was constructed in 1968.

“Town & Country Shopping Center is a fundamentally strong retail asset — 100% occupied, well located, and anchored by a top-performing grocery tenant,” Black says in the release. “Assets with these characteristics continue to command strong pricing and investor interest in today’s market.”