The Mary's Vineyard shopping center has been owned by the same family since 1920. It was recently sold for $17.7 million. Photo via Matthews Real Estate Investment Services

A Nashville-based investment services firm is claiming Visalia’s richest transaction of the year with the $17.7 million sale of the Mary’s Vineyard shopping center.

Located at 1305-1699 E. Noble Ave., right next to Highway 198 off of Ben Maddox Way, Mary’s Vineyard has 151,615 square feet with 28 tenants on 16.51 acres. Current ownership has owned the land since 1920 as the family’s original homestead. The center was developed in 1989 and has operated as a family business since.

Based in Tennessee with more than 1,000 agents across the U.S., Matthews Real Estate Investment Services handled the sale, which encountered some obstacles, said Carter Hamilton, an associate with Matthews.

“We faced several challenges during this transaction including CMBS [commercial mortgage-backed securities] debt and issues with a special servicer, deferred maintenance, extended escrow period, etc.,” Hamilton said. “But our experience in closing similar assets allowed us to stay several steps ahead. We were in constant communication with the seller and buyer so that all parties understood and were comfortable with the transaction timeline.”

Hamilton and Matthews First Vice President and Senior Director Matt LoPiccolo represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.

The property was purchased by Argonaut Investments, a privately held investment firm from the Bay Area. The company currently owns 40 grocery-anchored assets and is a vertically integrated firm that has management and constructions service lines.

“It’s imperative to address the property level challenges when vetting buyers,” LoPiccolo said. “Argonaut’s expertise and commitment were invaluable in closing the deal. Without their willingness to commit to solving the property-level and borrower challenges, this deal would not have happened.”

This is the second Central Valley shopping center sale announced by Matthews in the last six months. LoPiccolo represented the seller in the $22.5 million sale of Merced Mall earlier this year.