New York firm sells south-side shopping center, buys north-side complex in Castleton

Two Indianapolis area shopping centers, one on the north side and the other on the south side, were sold in recent weeks—with New York-based Nassimi Realty having a hand in both transactions.

Felbram Plaza North

New Jersey-based Millennial Holdings bought Felbram Plaza North, 3700 S. East St., for $7 million in early April.

The 200,000-square-foot shopping center, anchored by Shoppers World, MCL, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, is about 75% leased, according to a representative for Millennial Holdings.

The property fronts East Street, about one mile north of Interstate 465, and a quarter mile west of Madison Avenue. It's undergoing several improvements, receiving new roofing, a new parking lot and an updated HVAC system.

Millennial Holdings said it hopes to woo an additional anchor store and make the property “a class A asset” for the community. The new property manager for the 19.5-acre site is locally-based McCrea Property Group.

Millennial Holdings also has plans for future endeavors in the Indianapolis market, a representative said.

The sale was handled by John Riser of Indianapolis-based Riser Retail Group.

The plaza has changed hands three times since 2007, including twice in the last four years. In 2015, Felbram Plaza North LLC sold the property to Nassimi Realty and two other companies.

Nassimi still has an ownership stake in Felbram Plaza South, which sits on the southeast corner of East Street and National Avenue.

Castleton Plaza

In addition to selling its stake in Felbram Plaza North, Nassimi recently bought another shopping center, this one on the north side of Indianapolis. The firm acquired Castleton Plaza, 6302 E. 82nd St., about three weeks after selling the Felbram North property.

Nassimi paid $8 million for the multi-building Castleton property through the entity Castleton Plaza Shopping Center LLC, which was created three days after the sale of the Felbram property.

Just east of Castleton Square Mall, the 170,000-square-foot shopping center is in good shape and among the most competitive in the Castleton market with an 82% occupancy rate, said Jordan Klink, first vice president of investments for Marcus & Millichap, which brokered the deal.

Klink said the plaza’s sale seems to follow a larger local and national trend, in which out-of-state buyers take over properties for several years then look for new opportunities in different markets.

He said he isn’t aware of Nassimi’s plans for the plaza, or whether it plans to look for potential outlot tenants for an open 1.2 acre tract on the south side of the property. Nassimi did not respond to an IBJ request for information about its plans.

The plaza is anchored by Indy Tire, Saddle Up Saloon and Sam Ash music store and has gone through financial tumult in the recent years.

In 2011, then-owner Castleton Plaza LP—an affiliate of Indianapolis-based shopping center developer Broadbent Co.—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, hoping to erase more than $10 million in debt and other fees associated with the plaza’s operations.

The building was sold in February 2015 to EL SPNR Notes Holdings LLC for just under $10.5 million. The holding company owned the plaza until its sale to Nassimi.