(EDITOR’S NOTE: According to a representative of the companies, the property sold for $57 million, or just over $45 per square foot.)
ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Today, Bridge Group Investments, founded by the Mersho Family in 2004, and Steerpoint Capital announced that they have closed on an acquisition of the North County Mall in Escondido, California.
Situated on almost 83 acres in northern San Diego County, the North County Mall offers more than 1.25 million square feet of retail space, anchored by Target, Macy’s and JCPenney. It also includes a wide range of high-quality entertainment, fitness, and retail offerings, including 24 Hour Fitness, Forever 21, H&M, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Black Angus Steakhouse, On the Border and more.
The North County Mall is the fourth property that Bridge Group Investments and affiliates have acquired in the past six months with support from Steerpoint Capital. The firms closed on The Shops at Montebello in Montebello in April 2022, the Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale in Dec. 2022, and the Northridge Mall in Salinas in Dec. 2022. All four acquisitions are part of Steerpoint Capital’s strategy to build a high-yield portfolio with significant, risk-adjusted returns.
“We took our family business from one storefront to more than 170 across the United States, so we know firsthand what it takes to be successful in the retail space,” said George Mersho, Managing Partner of Bridge Group Investments. “That’s why we have such robust confidence in Steerpoint Capital’s strategy. They understand that consumer expectations for retail spaces are undergoing a fundamental shift, and like us, they believe that there’s a unique opportunity to reinvigorate properties and create significant returns.”
Steerpoint Capital is a Black-owned investment management firm led by Managing Partner Bo Okoroji, who previously served as the Head of U.S. Investments at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) and held multiple senior roles at Simon Property Group. Over the course of his career, Okoroji has participated in more than $11 billion worth of commercial real estate transactions. He currently serves as an advisory board member for CREUnited, an alliance convened by Walker & Dunlop focused on increasing assets under management by minorities.
“Acquiring the North County Mall is especially significant for me, given my tenure at URW and how familiar I am personally with the asset,” said Okoroji. “Thanks to its location in Escondido along the I-15 and its leading retail, dining, fitness, and entertainment offerings, we’re confident that the North County Mall can be positioned as a vibrant community hub as well as a dominant player in the regional retail marketplace.”
About Bridge Group Investments
Bridge Group Investment is the family office for the Mersho family, led by George Mersho and Ralph Mersho. Since its founding in 2004, Bridge Group Investment has invested more than $400 million in retail, industrial and multifamily real estate and has facilitated $1.2 billion in transactions. The Mersho family opened Shoe Palace in 1993, growing the business through hard work and ingenuity from a single brick-and-mortar location to a chain of more than 170 stores across the Southwest.
About Steerpoint Capital (SPC)
Steerpoint Capital is a commercial real estate investment management and advisory firm focused on executing value-add and opportunistic real estate strategies. Equipped with capital commitments from a diverse pool of partners, ranging from family offices and domestic and international investment funds, SPC’s current strategy focuses on executing adaptive reuse conversions and retail repositioning opportunities in high-demand markets within Southern California and Sunbelt States.
