Portion of Alto Shopping Center Sold

A portion of Mill Valley’s most prominent shopping center was sold this week, and the transaction revealed the complexity of the center’s ownership.

First Washington Realty, based in Bethesda, Md., bought a 19,886-square-foot section of the from a partnership headed by HG Capital of Menlo Park, according to broker Dean Copans of Retail West in San Francisco, which represented both parties in the transaction.

First Washington paid more than $12 million for the section of the shopping center between the and , including and the vacant space formerly occupied by , and on the perpendicular strip between the and , including .

Copans said it was “fairly typical, but not ideal” to have a center sold in chunks, though the Alto Center in particular has a complicated ownership situation. Five different groups own sections of the center, as Whole Foods, , the Post Office, , the shops between Rite Aid and Whole Foods are all owned separated, Copans said.

Copans said the seller was pleased to get nearly $650 per square foot for the section that was sold, and he credited Mill Valley’s prized demographics – the area within one mile of the center had an average household income of $162,278 in 2008 – for that price.

The portion of the center went on the market at the end of October with an asking price of $13.6 million, and the buyer was picked in early February, he said.

The space vacated by Clean Look in April 2010 – they moved to the Discovery Shop strip – is the only vacancy in the portion of the Alto Center that was sold, according to marketing materials provided by Retail West.

First Washington owns dozens of shopping centers throughout the United States including some in Napa, Walnut Creek and San Bruno, according to Copans.