CHATTANOOGA, TN—Shopping center REIT CBL & Associates Properties Inc. said Monday that it had closed on a sale-leaseback transaction for five Sears department stores and two Sears Auto Centers located at CBL malls. The deal will provide CBL with control of these locations for future redevelopment.

CBL paid a total of $72.5 million for the five locations. They include the Sears parcels at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, NC; Brookfield Square in Brookfield, WI; Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, TN; Eastgate Mall in Cincinnati; and Jefferson Mall in Louisville. The two acquired Sears Auto Centers are located at Northgate Mall in Chattanooga and Volusia Mall in Daytona, FL.

Sears will continue to operate the department stores under new 10-year leases. Under the terms of the leases, CBL will receive aggregate initial base rent of approximately $5.075 million, with Sears also responsible for paying common area maintenance charges, taxes, insurance and utilities.

CBL will have the right to terminate each Sears lease at any time on six months' notice, except during the peak holiday selling season. In addition to CBL's termination right, after a lock-out period of four years for the Sears store at Jefferson Mall, two years for the other four Sears stores and one-year for the two Sears Auto Centers, Sears may terminate each store lease upon six months' notice. Upon termination by either party, Sears has the option to relocate its operations at each mall to a location of up to 15,000 square feet.

“We are pro-actively transforming our market-dominant shopping centers to meet the changing preferences of consumers,” says CBL's president and CEO, Stephen Lebowitz. “This transaction provides CBL with the opportunity to redevelop prime real estate and attract exciting new uses at some of our best shopping centers. The leaseback of the real estate by Sears will generate income to CBL and gives us control over the timing of closures while we finalize our redevelopment plans at each location.”

Earlier this month, CBL announced plans for future redevelopment of four Macy's sites in the CBL portfolio that are expected to close this year:Jefferson Mall in Louisville; Layton Hills Mall in Layton, UT; Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, TX and Eastland Mall in Bloomington, IL. Macy's has announced an anticipated closing date of March 31 for the stores.

Instant Insights /

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