La Cañada shopping center sold as Gelson’s replaces Vons

Plaza De La Cañada, a neighborhood shopping center in La Cañada Flintridge, has sold for $35.9 million, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 1960s-era shopping center on Foothill Boulevard will be anchored by a Gelson’s Market that is set to open early next year. Gelson’s will replace Vons as the main anchor of the mall.

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., a San Diego real estate investment trust, bought the mall from Vons Cos., real estate brokerage Cassidy Turley said.

“The center, which was acquired by Vons in the late 1990s, was originally scheduled for a long-term redevelopment,” said Dixie Walker of Cassidy Turley. “That changed as a number of specialty grocery stores pursued the site for their smaller footprints, which matched well with the trade area’s high household income.

“Gelson’s won the battle and Vons made the correct decision to sell in one of the strongest markets we have seen in a long time,” Walker told the Los Angeles Times.

Other tenants in the 100,408-square-foot mall include Rite Aid, T.J. Maxx and Crabtree & Evelyn, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group.

-- Roger Vincent is a Los Angeles Times staff writer.

Twitter @rogervincent

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