02-04-2025
Tacoma shopping center in West End gains new ownership three years after last sale
The owner of properties at a prominent Tacoma West End shopping center has sold its parcels in a sale recorded three years to the date of original purchase.
An LLC affiliated with Washington, D.C.-based EDENS commercial real estate firm sold its Westgate North Shopping Center parcels for $37 million to Westgate North Station LLC, affiliated with Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Co. (PECO).
The sale, recorded March 31, consists of seven parcels at the center, according to Pierce County records. EDENS originally purchased the Westgate North parcels in a sale recorded March 31, 2022, for just over $38 million, and it was among eight shopping center sites it acquired along the West Coast at that time.
Despite the decrease in sale price from 2022 to 2025, the parcels in total have increased in assessed value over the same time period nearly 27 percent, a review of the sale documents indicated.
EDENS still lists Lakeland Town Center in Auburn, which was also part of its 2022 acquisition sweep, in its portfolio.
Representatives for PECO did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
PECO on its website touts itself as 'one of the nation's largest owners and operators of omni-channel grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers.'
As of December 31, the company managed 316 shopping centers, including 294 wholly-owned centers across 31 states, and 22 shopping centers owned in joint ventures.
The company, in its current leasing material for Westgate North, says about its property that 'Population exceeds 89,200 in a three-mile radius with an average household income greater than $117,000.'
Westgate North, 2601 N. Pearl St., is shadow-anchored by Safeway, with the store site and its parking lot owned by Albertsons/Safeway. That store, 2637 N. Pearl St., was included in a proposed property selloff list issued by Kroger and Albertsons in July 2024 as part of their failed merger attempt.
Westgate North is PECO's third shopping center investment in Washington state. PECO's website shows Claremont Village in Everett and The Orchards in Yakima also in its portfolio of U.S. sites.
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce first reported on the sale early Wednesday.
In June 2024, The News Tribune reported that Westgate North appeared to be on the market as of May via a listing with commercial real estate firm JLL for an undisclosed price. The listing came amid the sale of portions of its retail neighbor Westgate South, which sold for $12.9 million to an LLC affiliated with Dallas-based Crow Holdings.
The latest selloff follows news of another Tacoma shopping center sale. James Center, 6901 S. 19th St., sold last month for $36.75 million to an LLC affiliated with Rosen Harbottle, a commercial real estate firm in Bellevue.
Previous reporting by The News Tribune contributed to this report.
