Queens Mall Spurs $150M JV

Macerich president Edward C. Coppola says in a release that this deal makes it possible for the two companies "to build on a partnership that spans more than a decade and has delivered strong results, both from a financial and a real estate perspective. Queens Center is the first in a series of transactions in the execution of our JV strategy, through which we expect to raise $500 million in equity." Cadillac Fairview CEO Peter Sharpe says in a release that the deal gives his company "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enter New York."

Macerich purchased Queens Center in 1995 and added approximately 380,000 square feet of specialty retail space in 2004, bringing the total to 966,499 square feet. The mall in the Flushing section of Queens is anchored by Macy's and JCPenney, and was 97.5% occupied at year-end 2008. With sales of $876 per square foot in its specialty stores, it's the top performer in the Macerich portfolio, according to a release.

Macerich Partnership, L.P., the operating partnership of the two companies in which Macerich has an 87% ownership interest, co-owns seven other regional shopping centers in California and the Pacific Northwest. They include Lakewood Center in Lakewood, CA, Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos, CA and Washington Square in Portland, OR. Cadillac Fairview is wholly-owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.