Walnut Creek, CA – Tom Engberg, CEO of Loja Real Estate, LLC, today announced the acquisition of a grocery-anchored shopping center known as Shops at Oak Creek for one of the Firm’s separate accounts. Loja Real Estate, LLC, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Loja Group, LLC, a real estate investment management firm.

Loja Real Estate purchased the property from multiple owners for approximately $21.75 million. The transactions closed on March 28th and April 4th, respectively. This is Loja Real Estate’s sixth acquisition and second in 2012 anchored by Trader Joe’s.

The property is a 36,182 sq. ft. multi-tenant shopping center, developed in 2010, on 5.45 acres of land located in Agoura Hills, California. Trader Joe’s anchors the shopping center which includes three multi-tenant shops buildings and one restaurant pad. Trader Joe’s is a privately-held grocery store chain, headquartered in Monrovia, CA, operating 361 stores around the United States with annual sales reportedly in excess of $8.5 billion.

"This is an exciting acquisition for Loja Real Estate and its investors due to the accomplishment of consolidating multiple properties in an off-market transaction with Trader Joe’s as the anchor. The shopping center has quickly become a favorite gathering place for local residents since its opening in 2010. Agoura Hills is a community with strong demographics and limited competition due to a difficult entitlement environment," stated Scott Kyman, Vice President of Acquisitions at Loja Real Estate.

The selling entities were represented by Matthew May of May Realty Advisors. Loja Group has retained Colliers International to manage the property.

About Colliers International
Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world with 12,500 professionals operating out of more than 500 offices in 61 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, Colliers International focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners, and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, and mortgage banking research.

About May Realty Advisors
With over two decades of retail brokerage expertise, May Realty Advisors is recognized as one of Southern California’s leading boutique retail advisement firms based on their success as innovators in commercial real estate marketing, retailer relationships and the ability to source and close complex real estate transactions. Matthew May, founder of May Realty Advisors was a founding member of the Retail Brokers Network in 1992. Retail Brokers Network is an invitation-only network of retail brokerage companies throughout the US and Canada with over 55 members and 65 offices. The combination of the two organizations provides our clients with unique access to retailers, investors, and investment opportunities. To learn more about May Realty Advisors please visit www.mra.la.

About Loja Group LLC/Loja Real Estate, LLC
Loja Group LLC is a women-owned (WBE) real estate investment management firm with $188 million in assets under management. Through Loja Real Estate, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Loja acquires and manages grocery-anchored real estate assets throughout the United States for a variety of joint ventures, separate accounts, and commingled funds. Additional information about Loja may be found at www.LojaGroup.com.

Contact:
Scott Kyman, Vice President, Acquisitions
Office: 925-935-4405 ext. 6
Email: skyman@lojagroup.com

WALNUT CREEK, CA – Tom Engberg, CEO of Loja Real Estate, LLC, today announced the acquisition of a grocery-anchored, single-tenant property for one of the Firm’s separate accounts. Loja Real Estate, LLC, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Loja Group LLC, a real estate investment management firm.

Loja Real Estate purchased the property from a private investment partnership for approximately $8.75 million. The transaction closed on January 4, 2012. This is Loja Real Estate’s fifth acquisition.

The property is an 18,742 sq.ft. single-tenant building, originally developed in 1951, on 1.1 acres of land located in Santa Barbara, California. Trader Joe’s is the sole tenant and has been since the property was renovated in 2003. Trader Joe’s is a privately-held grocery store chain, headquartered in Monrovia, CA, operating 361 stores around the United States with annual sales reportedly in excess of $8.5 billion.

“The acquisition of this asset very well fits our core investment strategy and parameters. It is a high quality property, with a top tier grocer producing huge sales volumes in a very desirable, supply constrained market,” stated Scott Kyman, Vice President, Acquisitions of Loja Real Estate.

The selling entity was represented by The NRIG-West Team of CBRE. Loja Group has retained Colliers International to manage the property.

About Colliers International

Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world with 12,500 professionals operating out of more than 500 offices in 61 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, Colliers International focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners, and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, and mortgage banking and research.

About CBRE

Based in Orange County, the NRIG-West Team is part of a seven team network at CBRE dedicated to retail investment sales. Long recognized as industry-leading investment experts, the NRIG-West Team specializes in portfolio, anchored centers, strip centers, single tenant assets, specialty retail projects, REO and Receivership assets and parcelized disposition strategy opportunities. The Team consists of specialists with institutional and private client relationships, and leverages institutional quality knowledge and service across unparalleled access to private capital investors and the brokers who represent them, domestically and around the world.

About Loja Group LLC / Loja Real Estate, LLC

Loja Group LLC is a women-owned (WBE) real estate investment management firm with $166 million in assets under management. Through Loja Real Estate, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Loja acquires and manages grocery-anchored real estate assets throughout the United States for a variety of joint ventures, separate accounts, and commingled funds. Additional information about Loja may be found at www.lojagroup.com.

Walnut Creek, CA - Tom Engberg, CEO of Loja Real Estate, LLC, today announced the acquisition of The Shops at Pacific Station for one of the Firm’s separate accounts. Loja Real Estate, LLC, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Loja Group LLC, a real estate investment management firm.

Loja Real Estate purchased The Shops at Pacific Station from Pacific Station Property, LLC for $19.5 million. The transaction closed on July 25, 2011. This is Loja Real Estate’s fourth acquisition.

The Shops at Pacific Station, a 38,828 square foot grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping center, is the retail portion of a 98,403 square foot vertical mixed-use center containing second and third-story office space totaling 9,733 square feet, and 47 residential condominium units. The Shops at Pacific Station is located in Encinitas, a coastal community in San Diego County, CA. In addition to a 25,000 square foot Whole Foods, which just opened in June, The Shops at Pacific Station has a strong tenant mix, including an Urban Solace (upscale restaurant), Bliss 101 (craft/furniture gallery), Icons (high-end clothing boutique), and a Bombshell Boutique Salon (to open in August). The Shops at Pacific Station is currently 96% leased. The development is LEED Silver Certified to achieve maximum energy efficiency with the least possible impact on the environment.

“This is a very exciting and important acquisition for Loja. The Shops at Pacific Station is anticipated to be the premier neighborhood grocery-anchored shopping center within the Downtown 101 corridor, a 100+ year-old coastal shopping district considered one of San Diego’s most desirable retail destinations. Just three blocks from the beach, Pacific Station is the central gathering place for residents and tourists to dine, work, and shop,” stated Scott Kyman, Vice President, Acquisitions of Loja Real Estate.

“Once development returns to the market, we anticipate a trend toward mixed-use projects in dense built-out suburban communities where land is scarce and planners want development aggregated around transit hubs. Pacific Station – located next to the Encinitas train station, which is on a rail line that extends from San Diego into Los Angeles County – perfectly exemplifies the direction of future development and investor interest,” stated Mr. Engberg.

Loja Group was represented by Richard Lebert, Senior Vice President, Colliers International. Pacific Station Property, LLC was represented by Ryan Gallagher, Senior Managing Director, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP. Loja Group has retained Capital Growth Properties, Inc. of La Jolla, CA, to manage the property.

About Colliers International
Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world with 12,500 professionals operating out of more than 500 offices in 61 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, Colliers International focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners, and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, and mortgage banking and research.

About Capital Growth Properties, Inc.
Capital Growth Properties is a full service property management and real estate brokerage firm, specializing in the management, sale and leasing of income properties located throughout San Diego County. Active in the property management and brokerage business since 1976, Capital Growth Properties currently manages a portfolio of apartment communities, shopping centers, office buildings, and industrial facilities for a broad spectrum of investors.

About Loja Group LLC / Loja Real Estate, LLC
Loja Group LLC is a women-owned (WBE) real estate investment management firm with $135 million in assets under management. Through Loja Real Estate, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Loja acquires and manages grocery-anchored real estate assets throughout the United States for a variety of joint ventures, separate accounts, and commingled funds. Additional information about Loja may be found at www.lojagroup.com.

Walnut Creek, CA – Tom Engberg, CEO of Loja Real Estate, LLC, today announced the acquisition of Lakeland Town Center for one of the Firm’s separate accounts. Loja Real Estate, LLC, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Loja Group LLC, a real estate investment management firm.

Loja Real Estate purchased Lakeland Town Center from Lakeland Town Center II, LLC,which was managed by Tarragon Property Services of Sumner, WA. The sale price for theproperty is $39.4 million. The transaction closed on June 17, 2011. The Lakeland TownCenter purchase is Loja Real Estate’s third acquisition and the first outside of California.

“We’re delighted with this, our first acquisition outside of California. Lakeland Town Center exemplifies Loja Real Estate’s target acquisition. It is a functionally and operationally strong shopping center anchored by a market-share leading grocery store, occupied by an attractive mix of stable tenants with proven sales records, and located in a high-barriers-to-entry, supply-constrained market,” stated Mr. Engberg.

“Our acquisition of Lakeland Town Center fulfills the diverse mandates of this particular client. We look forward to completing similar acquisitions in the future,” stated Katherine Burr, Founder and CEO of Loja Group LLC.

Lakeland Town Center is a 125,000 square foot community shopping center within Lakeland, a master-planned residential community with 10,000 residents, in Auburn, WA. Lakeland Town center is anchored by a 67,000 square foot TOP Food & Drug store and occupied by a 27-tenant mix of retailers, restaurants, and service businesses. TOP Food & Drug is owned and operated by Hagen, Inc., the largest independent grocer in the state of Washington.

Loja Group was represented by Kevin Van Voorhis of Colliers International (San Francisco). Lakeland Town Center II, LLC was represented by Paul and Bill Sleeth of Colliers International (Seattle). Loja Group has retained Colliers International (Seattle) to manage the property.

About Colliers International

Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world with 12,500 professionals operating out of more than 500 offices in 61 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, Colliers International focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners, and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, and mortgage banking and research.

About Loja Group LLC / Loja Real Estate, LLC

Loja Group LLC is a women-owned (WBE) real estate investment management firm with $135 million in assets under management. Through Loja Real Estate, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Loja acquires and manages grocery-anchored real estate assets throughout the United States for a variety of joint ventures, separate accounts, and commingled funds. Additional information about Loja may be found at www.lojagroup.com.

Walnut Creek, CA (Jan. 27th, 2011). Loja Real Estate, LLC announced today the sale of The Shops at Waterford in Dublin, CA to an entity managed by American Realty Advisors. Loja acquired The Shops at Waterford in January 2010.

“We are delighted to turn over a 100% leased, A-quality asset to the buyer,” said Tom Engberg, Chief Executive Officer of Loja Real Estate. “The buyer will benefit, as Loja has, from the dependable income produced by a grocery-anchored property in a high-barriers-to-entry market,” he said.

The Shops at Waterford is a 125,670 square foot neighborhood shopping center, anchored by Safeway and also occupied by a variety of local stores, chain stores and restaurants. The property is located on the northwest corner of Tassajara Road and Dublin Blvd. in Dublin, CA. The Shops at Waterford holds a very strong position within the local market area.

“Loja’s real estate team is to be commended for their strict adherence to Loja’s investment discipline. The discipline allowed the team to buy and fully lease The Shops at Waterford in times of great uncertainty. As such, the team created real value for Loja and its investors. The Shops at Waterford would be a great property to retain in our portfolio, however Loja’s fiduciary duty to our investors and our investment discipline dictated the decision to sell it when we had achieved substantial appreciation in the value of the property,” said Katherine Burr, CEO of Loja Group LLC, parent of Loja Real Estate.

Loja was represented in the sale by Kevin Van Voorhis of Colliers International and Robb Wehmueller of Eastdil Secured.

Loja Real Estate is an institutional real estate manager offering commingled private funds, separate accounts and joint-ventures, headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA. Loja currently targets core and core-plus retail real estate in the Western US.

Loja Group will duplicate its real estate investment model with funds that will invest in other asset classes, including energy, financial services and basic materials. The common theme of each of its investment focuses is “basic human necessity” according to Mr. Engberg, who also serves as Chief Investment Officer of Loja Group.

American Realty Advisors, a California corporation, is a leading provider of real estate investment management services to institutional investors with more than $3.5 billion in assets under management. More information regarding American can be found online at www.americanreal.com.

Walnut Creek, CA - Loja Real Estate, LLC announced today the acquisition of Downtown Pleasant Hill on behalf of an institutional investor.

“We are delighted that Downtown Pleasant Hill is now part of Loja Real Estate’s portfolio,” said Tom Engberg, Chief Investment Officer of Loja Group, parent of Loja Real Estate. “This asset is a strategic complement to our earlier acquisition in Dublin and is again an example of the type of property we seek: high quality, stable assets in high barriers to entry markets,” he said. The firm acquired The Shops at Waterford in Dublin, CA earlier this year.

Downtown Pleasant Hill is a grocery-anchored neighborhood/community shopping center consisting of approximately 350,000 square feet. Located in Pleasant Hill, California, the center has won design awards for its architectural style. As implied by its name the property constitutes the downtown of Pleasant Hill and is designed as such with buildings organized in something of a grid pattern and bisected by a “main street” (Crescent Drive). Unlike a typical downtown, however, the center is also populated with major everyday use and entertainment themed tenants (Lucky Supermarket, Century Theatres, Ross Dress For Less, Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond and Borders) which energize the shops and restaurants and expand the draw of the center beyond the immediate market area.

The City Hall of Pleasant Hill is located immediately adjacent to the property and the City is very involved in and committed to its vitality.

Loja was represented in the acquisition by John Cumbelich of John Cumbelich and Associates. Colliers Property Management Services has been engaged to manage the property.

Loja Real Estate is a fund manager offering commingled private funds and separate accounts, headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA. Loja currently targets core and core-plus retail real estate in the Western US.

Loja Real Estate is wholly owned by Loja Group LLC. Loja Group will duplicate its real estate investment model with funds that will invest in other asset classes including, energy, financial services and basic materials. The common theme of each of its investment focuses is “basic human necessity” according to Engberg who also serves as Chief Executive Officer for Loja Real Estate.

Loja Group is pleased to announce the addition of Scott Franklin to our team as the new full-time Asset Manager for Loja Real Estate, LLC.

Mr. Franklin has been involved in commercial real estate for over 23 years and is currently principal of Thomas Scott Properties. Mr. Franklin previously was Senior Vice President of Capital & Counties USA, Inc., and before then was Vice President, Investments and Development, at Regency Centers. Prior to joining Regency, Mr. Franklin was one of the original 10 employees for online grocer Webvan, and was in charge of all real estate and development requirements (distribution centers) for the initial rollout plan of 26 markets to be deployed nationwide in 3 years.  Prior to Webvan, Mr. Franklin worked for the in-house real estate departments of national retailers Starbucks, Blockbuster and Bruegger’s Bagels, overseeing site selection and construction for rollouts in Northern California, Hawaii and Nevada.

The acquisition of The Shops at Waterford was covered in detail today by Contra Costa Times journalist George Avalos on the first page of the business section.  Loja Group CEO Tom Engberg was interviewed for the piece, which is available online through the Contra Costa Times website (Editor’s update: article is now archived).