MacKenzie Retail Brokers Sale of Pine Grove Village Center in Anne Arundel County for $6.65 Million

Vertically-integrated The MacKenzie Companies oversaw leasing and asset management on behalf of the former ownership group, and procured financing for the buyer

A partnership led by Delmarva based development firm Gillis Gilkerson completed the acquisition of Pine Grove Village Shopping Center, a nearly 85,000 square foot retail center located in the Pasadena section of Anne Arundel County, Maryland for $6.65 million. MacKenzie Retail, a division within the brokerage arm of The MacKenzie Companies, represented the seller, the estate of Lisa Bertani, with Senior Vice President and Principal Michael Ruocco and Vice President Tim Harrington handling the assignment. MacKenzie Management Company performed asset management services for the previous owner and MacKenzie Capital arranged project financing for the buyer in this transaction.

MacKenzie Retail was tapped to handle all marketing and leasing activities for the center located at 8567-8587 Fort Smallwood Road and, following the passing of the owner in late 2024, was awarded the assignment to market the property for sale by the trustee of the estate, David Askin. Pine Grove Village was just over 50 percent occupied, with the largest vacancy due to the closure of the former Mars Supermarket. A regional full-service gym and fitness center is expected to backfill this entire anchor space. Additional tenants include Dollar General, who recently renewed, Pizza Boli’s, and a healthy balance of local service-related businesses and boutique shops.

“The new owner acquired the asset for its long-term value-add potential, highlighted by the buyer’s unique ability to backfill the anchor vacancy.  Additionally, there is untapped value in a pad site fronting Fort Smallwood Road which can be sold or leased,” stated MacKenzie’s Ruocco. “We began our marketing efforts in the spring and quickly received nine written offers, which speaks to the continued high demand for well-located neighborhood shopping centers in the greater Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area among investor groups.”

“Gillis Gilkerson is now expanding to the ‘other side’ of the Bay Bridge,” Ruocco added. “The Eastern Shore-based construction management and real estate development firm, which is active throughout the Delmarva region, emerged as the ideal buyer. The buyer has ambitious plans to complete the leasing and make improvements to the center’s physical plant.”

“Our team navigated a unique set of circumstances with the transfer of ownership, and successfully placed the shopping center under contract in approximately three months,” Harrington said. “MacKenize took an ‘all hands’ approach to this assignment with team efforts from its brokerage, property management, and capital markets divisions, with the latter providing the financing.”

Fronting Fort Smallwood Road, nearly 115,000 people live and an additional 90,000 people work within a five-mile radius of the center with an average household income approaching $150,000. Nearly 10,000 vehicles pass the site daily via Fort Smallwood Road. Pine Grove Village Shopping Center was constructed in 1960, renovated in 1991, and sits on a 7.6-acre site.

“The retail asset class has continued to perform well, drawing substantial attention from investors. The value-add profile of this acquisition gave debt providers confidence in the opportunity, leading to a highly competitive financing process,” stated Jack Ward, Vice President of MacKenzie Capital. “This was a strong team effort, I appreciated the opportunity to work alongside everyone involved and look forward to seeing the final product.”

MacKenzie Retail is a division within the brokerage arm of The MacKenzie Companies, which operates five full-service divisions addressing all real estate asset classes including MacKenzie Management Company, MacKenzie Contracting Company, MacKenzie Capital, and MacKenzie Investment Group. The company provides customized real estate solutions for institutional owners, investors, private companies and individuals. For additional information, visit www.mackenziecommercial.com