Retail Steps It Up, Triple Time

We’ll feature a panel of luminaries at our State of LA Retail & Triple Net Investment this Thursday at the Intercontinental Los Angeles (sign up here). Yesterday, we chatted with Sands Investment Group’s Chris Sands. With 31 agents in 16 states, the growing firm brands itself on exclusive representation of individuals and institutions in buying and selling net lease investment properties throughout the US. (They are the Jerry Maguires of net leasing.)

The firm just closed a Big Lots, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and Big 5 property in Lakewood for $15M, as well as a national credit net-leased portfolio, also for eight figures. It’s helping 1031 exchange clients successfully sell portfolios in their respective markets, trading into higher yielding, investment grade properties throughout the country. In its Santa Monica backyard, SIG is marketing the Co-Opportunity grocery store (1525 Broadway) and a retail building housing Jack in the Box and VCA Animal Hospital (2421-2425 Wilshire). “Anything in the Santa Monica/West LA marketplace that has a value-add component or some credit behind the lease is trading at a premium comparable to the height of the market.” In his spare time, Chris feeds the homeless and visits a convalescent home to “spend time with my elderly peeps,” but on Thursday, he’ll be one of our panelists. (And on Friday, he and wife Liz celebrate their fifth anniversary.)