DEPTFORD, NJ-Deptford Mall, a 1.04-million-sf enclosed regional center, has been acquired by the Macerich Co. for $241 million. The sprawling complex was acquired from an entity related to Simon Kravco of King of Prussia, PA. Kravco originally developed the mall, opening it in 1975, and it became part of Simon Property Group's holdings when that company bought Kravco a couple of years ago. It has been expanded multiple times over the years.

"Macerich placed a $172.5 million, five-year, fixed-rate loan secured by the mall," says a company spokesman, describing the transaction's financial aspects. "The interest rate for the loan is 5.4%."

The two-level mall, the sole enclosed regional center in South Jersey's largely rural Gloucester County, is anchored by Sears, JC Penney, Boscov's and Macy's. The latter was branded as a Strawbridge's for many years before Federated Department Stores re-branded several of its regional chains last year.

Besides the four department store anchors, the property includes a total of some 343,000 sf of inline mall shop space. According to the Macerich spokesman, Deptford Mall generates annual tenant sales of approximately $507 per sf. At the time of sale, the mall had an occupancy of 94%.

The acquisition marks the second New Jersey retail property in the portfolio of the Santa Monica, CA-based Macerich, which has the majority of its holdings in the western part of the country. In early 2005, the company picked up the 1.5-million-sf Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold as part of a $2.3 billion portfolio buy from Wilmorite. As reported by GlobeSt.com, Macerich subsequently launched an expansion at Freehold, consisting of a new wing and a lifestyle center.

The acquisition also follows the very recent sell-off by Macerich of three malls in the Central US as the company "continues to prune its portfolio" in that part of the country, according to the spokesman. As reported by GlobeSt.com, gone from the company's portfolio for a combined $375 million are Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville, AR and Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs. "The company continues to redeploy its capital into developments, redevelopments and higher-quality assets," the spokesman says.