Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has sold the North County Mall, a 1.2M SF shopping center in Escondido outside of San Diego.
URW will maintain its leasehold interest in the shopping center until it expires in June 2053. The mall was purchased by Bridge Group Investment and Steerpoint Capital for an undisclosed price.
Previously known as Westfield North County Fair, North County Mall is located at 272 E. Via Rancho Parkway, in northern San Diego County, on an 83-acre site adjacent to Interstate 15.
The retail mall is anchored by Macy’s, JCPenney and Target. Other tenants include Forever 21, H&M, MAC, Apple, Game Stop and 24 Hour Fitness. The center also includes restaurants, including Black Angus Steakhouse, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, The Cheesecake Factory and Chipotle.
North County Mall is the fourth acquisition for the partners, including three transactions last year. In December, the companies paid $60 million for the 442M SF Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale. Earlier this year, the firms jointly acquired for $92M The Shops at Montebello, a 362K SF shopping center in Montebello, Calif.
Built in 1990, on a 29.7-acre site, Antelope Valley Mall is anchored by Dillard’s, Macy’s and JCPenney. The mall is home to more than 100 retailers and offers over 7,000 parking spots.
Located at 1233 Rancho Vista Blvd., the retail center is four miles from downtown Palmdale. The property also provides immediate access to Antelope Valley Freeway and Aerospace Highway. SVP National Leasing, oversees the leasing activity at the mall, which offers a gross leasable area of roughly 1M SF.
Steerpoint Capital focuses on adaptive reuse conversions and retail repositioning opportunities. Along with Bridge Group, the company will implement property upgrades, which will include enhanced dining options, additional entertainment offerings and a redesigned food court.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), Europe’s largest mall owner, sold two more US shopping centers in December—it’s second sale of US assets in less than a week—bringing the 2022 total from its yearlong effort to divest its US holdings to $1.3B.
On December 30, the company announced the sale of Westfield Trumball, located in Trumball, CT and Westfield South Shore in Bay Shore, NY for a combined gross sale price of $196M, which the company said represents an initial yield of 9.5% on the in-pace NOI.
URW did not disclose the buyer.
Westfield Trumbull, built in 1965 and encompassing 1.2M SF, is 85% leased, according to URW. Westfield South Shore, built in 1963 on the South Shore of Long Island, is 89% leased.
URW refinanced both assets in 2015, with the Trumball mall securing a $152M loan from Column Financial and South Shore getting $126M in financing from JP Morgan.
URW also sold an outdoor lifestyle destination known as The Village in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles to the Kroenke Organization in a transaction valued at $325M. Kroenke is the real estate arm of the owner of the Los Angeles Rams NFL franchise.
The Village is a Class A, 600K SF shopping center located next to the Promenade development that URW recently sold for $150M. URW remains the owner of the adjacent 1.5M SF Westfield Topanga.
URW said the sale price for The Village reflects an initial yield of 5.6% on the in-place Net Operating Income, and a 10.6% discount to the last unaffected appraisal.
In a statement that noted the company’s largest divestitures in 2022—including the sale of Westfield Santa Anita for $578M and the sale of the Palisade residential tower for $238M—Fabrice Mouchel, URW’s CRO, confirmed that the Amsterdam-based company remains committed to “radically reduce” Its US holdings.
“This transaction is another step in the streamlining of our US regional asset portfolio as part of our wider plan to radically reduce our financial exposure to the US. [It] demonstrates the continued investor interest in high quality assets with strong operating performance,” Mouchel said.