The Cornerstar shopping center in Aurora is one of four open-air shopping centers bought in a $100 million deal between DLC Management Corp., a New York-based private real estate company, and DRA Advisors, a real estate investment adviser.

The 380,479-square-foot Cornerstar in south Aurora is anchored by Target, Marshalls, HomeGoods, 24 Hour Fitness, Nike and Ulta. DLC said it plans to add a specialty grocery to the anchor spot previously occupied by the grocer Sprouts Farmer Market.

DLC bought Cornerstar from ShopCore Properties. The other shopping centers DLC acquired are in New Jersey, Arizona and Ohio. Cornerstar, the largest of the four, opened in 2008 along the intersection of Arapahoe and Parker roads.

Adam Ifshin, DLC founder and CEO, said the company “saw a tremendous opportunity in this deal to expand our national presence through the acquisition of great assets.”

Ifshin said the Cornerstar is in a great location. He said the shopping center will be 97% occupied when the new grocery store, which is under lease, opens.

“We have wanted for a long time as a company to gain entry to the Denver market and this is our entry point,” Ifshin said in an interview.

DLC previously found it difficult to figure out what part of the metro area to target. In recent years, residential and commercial development was focused on either side of Cornerstar, Ifshin said.

“Clearly, when you look at the level of residential development occurring now immediately south of the center along Parker (Road), it’s pretty clear that the market is filling in dramatically with both single-family homes and Class A multifamily,” Ifshin said.

He said it feels like the “action in economic development and growth” has shifted to the south part of the metro real estate market. Ifshin believes the location of Cornerstar has benefitted from the shift to hybrid work schedules with people working part of the time from home.

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