The Ventura site is a property formerly occupied by Montgomery Wards and across the street from Macerich's Pacific View Mall, which the company sold for $15.4 million, and for which it will record a gain of approximately $12 million. The Phoenix sale consists of a 67% partnership interest in Paradise Gateway, 296,000-sf center anchored by an Albertson's grocery store and Petsmart. Macerich acquired a 67% partnership interest in the Phoenix center as part of the July 2002 acquisition of the Westcor Realty Limited Partnership Portfolio. It sold the 67% interest to Developers Diversified Realty for $29.4 million, which included a proportionate share of debt.

Thomas O'Hern, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Macerich, described the transactions in Ventura and Phoenix as part of the REIT's plans to be sellers of certain assets and to dispose of approximately $150 million of non-core assets.

The Macerich Co. acquires, leases, manages, develops and redevelops regional malls and community shopping centers throughout the United States. Its holdings include interests in 56 regional malls, 20 community shopping centers and two development properties totaling approximately 57 million sf of gross leasable area.

Among its most recent acquisitions was the portfolio of Westcor Realty Limited Partnership, the dominant owner, operator and developer of regional malls in the greater Phoenix area. Macerich in July completed acquisition of the Westcor portfolio, which includes nine regional malls with an aggregate gross leaseable area of approximately 10 million sf in Arizona and Colorado. Of these nine malls, six are super-regional malls with gross leaseable space totaling one million sf or more. In addition, the Westcor portfolio includes interests in community shopping centers totaling about four million sf, as well as rights for more than 1,000 acres of undeveloped land.