Macerich Gains AZ Centers for $75M Plus Property Swap

GLENDALE, AZ-In a complicated property swap and cash deal, The Macerich Company has gained complete control of Arrowhead Towne Center and Superstition Springs Center, two regional malls located in Phoenix metro area.

The Santa Monica, CA-based REIT bought out General Growth Properties Inc.’s one-third ownership interest in both properties for $75 million in cash plus six-big box anchor locations in Arizona, California, Illinois and Utah. The deal was three years in the making, according to Macerich's Chairman and CEO Arthur Coppola. “We are pleased that with the new leadership team in place at GGP that it has resulted in an exchange that is good for both GGP and MAC," he says.

Arrowhead Towne Center, located at the intersection of Loop 101 and Bell Road in Glendale, is a 1.2-million-square-foot center. Anchored Macy’s and Dillard’s, it was developed in 1993 and renovated in both 2004 and 2008.

Superstition Springs Center, located in Mesa, AZ, is anchored by four department stores: Dillard’s, JCPenney, Macy’s and Sears. Built in 1990, the center was renovated in 2002 and 2006. New additions include Borders, The Cheesecake Factory, Subway, DownEast Basics and The Yankee Candle Company.

The two malls average more than $430 per square foot in sales and are more than 95% occupied, according to Macerich.

The six big-box anchor locations that General Growth now owns as part of the land swap include: Neiman Marcus at Oakbrook Center in Chicago; Burlington Coat Factory at Chula Vista Center in San Diego; Forever 21 at Tucson Mall in Tucson, AZ; Kohl's at Southland Mall in Hayward, CA; and former vacant Mervyn's locations at Fallbrook Mall in Fallbrook, CA, and Newgate Mall in Ogden, UT.

"This deal not only provides GGP with additional capital to either pay off debt or reinvest in our properties, it also helps us further solidify our focus on our core assets,” says General Growth CEO Sandeep Mathrani. “We are now in possession of six high profile anchor locations that will add to GGP's bottom line and provide further value for our shareholders."

Mathrani says four of the six anchor/big-box locations are leased, according to “The two currently vacant anchor/big-box locations are vital to our ability to redevelop those assets," he adds.