The Penn Hills Center and several outparcels near the shopping plaza on Rodi Road have been purchased by a New York-based firm for $20.5 million.
Under an LLC created early this year, Asher Group reached a deal with First National Realty Partners in May to add the popular retail destination to its portfolio of strip malls and plazas.
The sale encompasses nearly 273,000 square feet of leasable space across 10 properties. Tenants include Aldi, Dollar Bank, the United States Postal Service, multiple fast food chains and a slew of other big-name businesses.
The nearby Giant Eagle, which is owned by a private individual, is not included in the sale but still drives traffic to the dozens of other retailers whose leases have changed hands.
According to the now-removed listing by Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., the center is the most visited neighborhood shopping plaza within a 5-mile radius, attracting more than 2.3 million visits each year.
On its website, Asher Group claims to have more than two decades of commercial and residential real estate management experience throughout North America. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
First National, an investment firm headquartered in New Jersey, bought the property for $18 million in 2018. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
At the time of the 2018 sale, a First National representative said they would carry out a series of cosmetic repairs, such as sign paintings and landscaping improvements. Most major retailers have remained in place since then.
While he deferred to First National to explain the reason for the sale, listing agent Patrick Higgins of JLL said the firm decided to move on at a hot time in retail real estate.
“Retail fundamentals in the mid-Atlantic are as strong as they’ve been in the last 10 years,” Higgins said.
In particular, private capital is gravitating toward plazas with grocery anchors in densely populated markets, he added. Penn Hills Center meets that criteria, boasting two supermarkets in a municipality with more than 40,000 residents.
