Joel J. Gorjian, a national real estate investor and President & CEO of Great Neck, New York-based Gorjian Acquisitions, has completed the purchase of the Oglethorpe Plaza shopping center located at 1604 East Oglethorpe Boulevard in Albany, Georgia. The seller was a private investor. The value of the transaction was in excess of $1.5 million.

“The 109,000-sq.-ft. Oglethorpe Plaza is anchored by the Roses discount department store and City Trends, a value-priced retailer of urban fashion apparel and accessories. We are aggressively pursuing local, regional, and national tenants for the center’s two vacancies totaling 25,000 square feet,” said Gorjian. The shopping center is located on a 12-acre lot, right at the interexchange of North Slappey Boulevard, U.S. Highway 19, the Liberty Expressway, and U.S. Route 82.

77,500-resident Albany is the largest city in the state west of the Interstate 75 and south of Columbus, Georgia. The Albany metropolitan area has a population of more than 150,000. Just south of the Oglethorpe Plaza is the Marine Corps Logistics Base, home to the Marine Corps Logistics Command as well as of more than 40 organizations that provide support to the entire U.S. Marine Corps. The MCLB Albany installation is one of the largest employers in the region. Other large employers in the vicinity of the shopping center include the Procter & Gamble Paper Products plant that employs more than 500. Immediately east of Oglethorpe Plaza are the Dougherty Middle and High Schools. The nearby national retailers include Walmart, Walgreens, McDonald's, Hardee's, Wendy's, Waffle House, and Long John Silver.

Gorjian has structured and executed 23 acquisitions across the United States in the last 12 months. “We are currently pursuing additional acquisition opportunities in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest, and Northeast,” he explained. Gorjian is currently negotiating seven additional real estate transactions. His acquisition strategy focuses on underperforming properties with value-added potential.

Gorjian targets retail, office, and medical properties nationwide. He recently purchased the Advance Auto Parts single-tenant building in Holly Hill, SC; the Midway Plaza shopping center in Tallmadge, OH; the Salem Plaza in Dayton, OH; 6500 St. Claire Avenue, a single-tenant retail property in Cleveland, OH; the State and Mapleton Plaza neighborhood shopping center in Columbus, IN; and the 529 Lake Avenue mixed-use retail/residential property in St. James, NY.

“Well-financed, all-cash investors who don’t rely on loan financing, such as Gorjian Acquisitions, provide a safer, faster disposition option to real estate owners than do other buyers, who rely on loans for their acquisitions,” Gorjian said.