The Solana Beach, California-based real estate investment firm bought American Fork Center, a 1970s-era property at 634 to 702 E. State Road, in an off-market deal for an undisclosed price, according to Brixton Capital’s June 13 announcement of the deal.
Agents Scott Brady and Garrett Blomquist from Mountain West Commercial Real Estate represented Brixton Capital during the transaction. Brixton Capital has tapped Mountain West Commercial to do leasing at American Fork Center as well.
Brixton Capital already owns a major retail property in the area, the Provo Towne Center, which is the 19th biggest shopping center in the Salt Lake City region. In 2017, the company announced that it had an $80 million redevelopment project in the works for Provo Towne Center, with plans to add a 30,000-square-foot dining district, a 100,000-square-foot office tower and 200 residential units, among other things. In late February of this year, Brixton Capital purchased the 206,240-square-foot, two-story Dillard’s building at Provo Towne Center, an acquisition it called critical to its long-term redevelopment plans there.
Brixton Capital has 14 million square feet in its portfolio in Europe and U.S. Its holdings include retail, apartments, office, industrial properties and land.
American Fork Center includes one large building, an unenclosed strip mall, and several outbuildings set into a surface parking lot.
The seller was a partnership between Alto Real Estate Funds, a real estate investment firm based in Dallas, and Western Avenue Capital, a Los Angeles company. A joint venture between the two bought American Fork Center in 2015 for about $17.8 million, according to CoStar records.
Executives with Brixton Capital said the location was as much of a draw as the property itself. American Fork is in Utah County, where the total population is expected to grow 101.5% from 2020 to 2060, according to a January 2022 report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. The institute’s projections indicate that about 674,000 new residents will move into the county during that time.
“American Fork is one of the fastest growing areas of Utah, a market where Brixton has long, successful investment experience,” Brixton Capital’s Vice President of Acquisitions Jim Hamilton said in the statement.
Hamilton said the mall’s “strong line up of existing tenants” was also an enticement. The property was 100% leased at the time of sale. Tenants in the center include Dollar Tree, Big Lots, JOANN Fabrics and Crafts and VASA Fitness.
The company plans to upgrade the mall’s exterior, landscaping and signage.
