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A company that franchises Jack In The Box restaurants has bought a parcel at the Gateway Plaza shopping center in Murrieta and will build one of the fast-food restaurants there.
Murrieta-based DMSD Property LLC bought the property, which covers a little more than a half-acre, from Sierra Lane Partners LLC, said Scott Forest, senior vice president with WestMar Commercial Real Estate in Temecula.
DMSD Property paid $1 million for the parcel, which is near Interstate 215 at 26708 Clinton Keith Road, Forest said.
Escrow on the property closed in mid-November. The transaction, which took several months to negotiate, was announced last week.
The site, which is at the front of the shopping center, is surrounded by several fast-food restaurants, including a Del Taco and a Jersey Mike’s sandwich shop. It’s also close to Loma University Medical Center and Vista Murrieta High School.
A 2012 traffic count found that about 30,000 vehicles pass by the site everyday, and that number will likely increase after Clinton Keith Road is extended into French Valley, Forest said.
“It’s really is an idea place for a fast-food restaurant,” said Forest, who represented Sierra Lane Partners in the negotiations. “It’s a finished restaurant pad with all of the utilities in place.”
Construction is expected to start early next year, with the restaurant likely to open during the second quarter, Forest said.
Officials with DMSD Property could not be reached for comment. However, the company operates franchised Jack In The Box restaurants throughout Southern California, according to multiple published reports.
San Diego-based Jack In The Box is one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains, with 2,250 restaurants in 21 states, according to the company’s Web site.
The $1 million price tag, which breaks down to about $35 a square foot, is a sign that the Riverside County real estate market is getting stronger.
“That was very encouraging,” Forest said. “Three years ago that property probably would have sold for $25 to $27 a square foot.”
