For prolific real estate investor Ethan Conrad, the standard purchase is a property with some obvious upside to make, especially in the form of vacant space to fill.

Conrad’s newest purchase, retail center Ardendale in Arden-Arcade, doesn’t have that attribute. It’s 100% leased. But he said he’s got some upgrades planned anyway.

“Most of the tenants in the property have been in place for quite a while and have strong, established businesses,” he said in an email. “Therefore, I would anticipate hopefully retaining all of the tenants and simply adjusting the rent that is significantly below market value to rent that’s closer to fair market value.”

Ardendale, at 2901-2989 Arden Way, sold to Conrad this week for $8.24 million, he said. The 50,021-square-foot center is on the northwest corner of Arden Way and Avondale Avenue.

By some remodeling and other improvements, Conrad said in an email to his team announcing the acquisition, the property could easily justify higher rents. He said separately the property’s location was a point in its favor, along with selling for at least 35% below what a similar center would cost to build. Industrial properties, currently the darling of commercial real estate investment, are selling for 15% to 25% more than their replacement value, he said.

Property tenants at Ardendale include California Backyard, Crossroads Trading Co. and Falling Prices. The Falling Prices discount retail chain has drawn crowds through its strategy of stocking new merchandise every week before opening on Tuesdays and lowering the prices daily before closing for two days and starting the process over.

According to real estate data service Reonomy, ML Blake Estate Co., based in Grass Valley, was the seller in the deal. ML Blake Estate bought the 1972-built property for an undisclosed price. A message left with the company this week was not returned.

CBRE’s Sacramento office had a sales listing for the property for $8.42 million. The listing noted two of the tenants, Crossroads Trading and Total Beauty Experience, have each been in the center for more than a quarter century.