Alberta, MD Dissolve JV in 3M-SF Mall Rebuild

KANSAS CITY, MO-A spokeswoman with Greenwood Village, CO-based Alberta Development Partners LLC has confirmed it is pulling away from it’s only non-West deal, a venture with locally-based MD Management Inc. to rehabilitate area two malls that total 3.2 million sf. She tells GlobeSt.com that the companies have canceled plans to jointly redevelop the 2.1-million-sf Metro North mall, here, and the 1.1-million-sf Metcalf South mall in Overland Park, KS.

The companies announced in late 2006 that they were joining forces to bring new life to the aging malls. The management firm, a collection of the interests of the Morgan and Dreiseszun families, had built Metcalf South in 1967 and Metro North in 1976. Alberta even reportedly had the backing of Chicago-based Walton Street Capital, and hired locally-based LANE4 Property Group to find tenants. Metcalf South, at 95th Street and Metcalf Avenue, was to become the Streets at Metcalf, with retail, office, residential and a hotel; and Metro North, at Barry Road and US 169, was to become the Streets at Barry Towne, with similar amenities.

However, no plans were ever filed with the cities, and after news reports of a lack of activity between the partners, the companies announced the dissolution. “Working with MD to try to do this was a positive experience,” the spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com. “It’s really about the retail and capital markets. We were working through the opportunities, and the timing of the market change and what retailers are doing today just became too much of a factor.” She would not say anything more specific about the split.

The two companies are still friendly, the spokeswoman says, pointing to venture they’re preliminarily paired on to redevelop the Westminster Mall in Denver. “We’re continuing to explore that partnership. There’s no cost of development on that project yet,” she says.

Greg Walker with MD did not return phone calls. He has reportedly said that the firm would consider another partner, but that it will keep moving forward on the plans alone if necessary, starting with Metro North, which will keep its Macy’s anchor but lose J.C. Penney. Both malls have large vacancies.