NEW YORK CITY—Westfield Corp. in Australia has formed a $925 million joint venture with New York City-based O'Connor Capital Partners for three regional shopping centers in the US. The three retail centers are the Westfield Wheaton, in Maryland, the Westfield Palm Desert in California and the Westfield Trumbull in Connecticut.

O'Connor is also planning an expansion at least one of the malls—the Westfield Wheaton, with plans to announce a mixed-use residential project at the mall soon, CIO Joel Bayer tells GlobeSt.com.

Westfield will have a 52.6% interest in the joint venture and act as the property and leasing manager and developer for the properties.

This transaction follows a $1.28 billion transaction in which O'Connor Capital acquired a 49.9% stake in six Westfield-owned US malls.

That first transaction has done well for the firm, Bayer says. The malls are located across Florida and since 2013 the state has largely recovered from the recession.

The latest acquisition also stands to do well for O'Connor, he continues. "These malls are pretty productive, with average comp sales of $425 per square foot. Also, each of the malls has significant expansion potential, which was a very appealing part of the investment."

The Westfield Wheaton in Maryland, for example, is entitled for 10 million square feet of additional development. "We are going to announce our first tower there," he says. Bayer declined to provide further details, other than a third-party developer might be brought in for the project.