Mills Buys 9M-SF Mall Portfolio for $1B

Among the nine properties of which retail and entertainment REIT is now co-owner is the 1.3-million-sf Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, CA, a submarket of San Francisco's East Bay. Home to big name anchors Nordstrom, Macy's, JCPenney and Sears, the 24-year-old property is approved for an additional 380,000 sf of development. Mills also bought into Columbus, OH's Columbus City Center, a 1.2-million-sf shopping center developed 15 years ago in the middle of downtown. The center's anchors are Lazarus and Kaufmann's which, together, account for nearly 550,000 sf. Gaithersburg, MD's Lakeforest Mall and Columbus, OH's the Mall at Tuttle Crossing--both 1.1 million sf in size--were built in 1978 and 1997, respectively.

Also reaching the 1.1-million-sf mark are Marley Station in Anne Arundel County, MD and Hilltop Mall in W. Contra Costa County, CA. Built in 1987, Marley Station sits just 20 minutes outside of Baltimore near the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, while the 28-year-old Hilltop Mall sits in the town of Richmond. Rounding up the acquisition list are the 983,000-sf Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, MI, the 900,000-sf Meadowood Mall in Reno, NV, and Miami's 821,000-sf the Falls. The malls were developed in 1973, 1978 and 1980, respectively.

While all of the properties are considered successful revenue generators, there is always room for more income production and the new partnership is considering expansion plans, as well as other options at the shopping centers. "We will enhance our return by leveraging our substantial merchandising and development expertise," Mills chairman and CEO Laurence C. Siegel says.

The acquisition is on target to close on Oct. 15. Mills' big news yesterday did not end with the acquisition announcement. The REIT also revealed its plans for a $275-million Series F Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock offering, the proceeds of which would be used to pay down a line of credit that is partially funding the mall portfolio purchase.