Sprouts Center, a 55,615-square-foot grocery anchored shopping center at 5225 E. Southern Ave. in Mesa, was recently sold for $18.5 million, according to John M. Leonard, regional manager of the Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office.

“This transaction highlights the desirability of grocery anchored centers during any cycle. Despite generating a significant amount of offer interest within a short amount of time, we were competing with rapidly rising interest rates paired with static deal pricing,” Marc Irvin, first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office, said in a release.

Marcus & Millichap is a commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in investment sales, financing, research and advisory services.

Irvin had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, an Arizona based private investor. The buyer was a Fresno, California, based family trust in a 1031 exchange, according to the release.

“Extensive networking ultimately landed the best buyer for our client. This deal happened as a result of interacting with others and not relying on just passive marketing via the Internet. Having specialized experience enabled us to predict nuances during the due diligence process that helped facilitate a successful close for the buyer and seller,” he said.

Ryan Sarbinoff, regional manager in the Phoenix office, was the broker of record and assisted in this transaction.

For information, go to MarcusMillichap.com.