Northmarq’s Pacific Northwest retail investment sales team has closed the sale of J.O. Borgen Plaza, a multi-tenant retail center in North Bend, Washington. The property, which totals 28,418 square feet, traded for $8.2 million. The center is part of the Seattle metropolitan statistical area and is positioned along the I-90 corridor, a key regional route serving the community and surrounding markets.
The Northmarq team represented both sides of the transaction. Managing Directors Sean Tufts and Kevin Adatto, Senior Associate Joe Dugoni, and Associate Jack Hallberg collectively acted on behalf of the seller and the buyer. Their mandate covered marketing the center, sourcing a buyer, and facilitating the closing for this retail investment sale.
J.O. Borgen Plaza is anchored by a freestanding Wells Fargo branch and is also home to a Jersey Mike’s Subs and a UPS Store. The center historically benefited from a strong anchor in the original Bartell Drugs building, which comprised 17,958 square feet. That space became vacant after Rite Aid acquired the Bartell Drugs brand and later entered bankruptcy, creating a large void within the tenant lineup.
The recent sale was structured in alignment with a national retailer’s plan to backfill that 17,958-square-foot former Bartell Drugs space. The center’s leasing profile, including its freestanding bank branch and service-oriented retail tenants, is expected to be reshaped once the new replacement anchor is in place. While the specific retailer was not identified, the transaction was timed to support the backfill strategy for the former drugstore box.
Commenting on the situation, Northmarq’s Sean Tufts noted that Rite Aid’s acquisition of Bartell Drugs and the subsequent bankruptcy put significant stress on what had been a highly successful shopping center. The loss of the Bartell Drugs brand and the resulting vacancy challenged the overall performance and perception of the property. Tufts emphasized that the team was able to navigate a difficult environment and secure a buyer ready to move forward with an anchor replacement plan.
With the sale completed, the new ownership is positioned to execute on the national retailer’s backfill of the former Bartell Drugs space. Northmarq’s brokers indicated that this outcome is expected to help the center continue serving the North Bend community over the long term, reestablishing a stable anchor presence and supporting the smaller tenants on site. The transaction underscores ongoing investor interest in well-located suburban retail centers within the Seattle metro, particularly those with clear paths to re-tenanting large-format vacancies created by national retailer restructurings.
