612,000-SF Chunk of Southlands Trades for $161M

AURORA, CO-Alberta Town Center LLC, a JV of Alberta Development Partners and equity partner Pacific Coast Capital Partners have sold their 36-acre core of Southlands, a 1.8-million-square-foot, 301-acre lifestyle center than includes 171,000 square feet of office space. The JV sold 611,700 square feet in 13 buildings to Granite Southlands Town Center LLC, an entity of BlackRock Realty Partners, for $161.17 million or approximately $263.50 per square foot, according to Arapahoe County records.

Several articles have been written in the past week about the transaction but none of them revealed what properties actually changed hands, how much acreage and square footage was involved, and whether Pacific Coast Capital Partners sold its stake along with Alberta Development. The aforementioned details are based on research by GlobeSt.com and Arapahoe County officials. None of the parties involved in the transaction returned GlobeSt.com queries seeking confirmation.

Southlands is located northeast of the intersection of Smoky Hill Road and Highway 470, several miles southeast of Denver. Launched by Alberta Development and PCCP in 2003 and substantially completed in 2006, the open-air center has a main street lined with shops and eateries and angled parking that runs through the center of the development.

All nine parcels sold by Alberta Development and PCCP to BlackRock touch Main Street. Eight of the parcels comprise 100% of the area bordered by South Southlands Parkway on the south and west, Plaza Avenue on the north and South Central Street on the east. The buildings range from one- to two-stories, with the two-story buildings housing office or additional retail on their upper floors. The other parcel, which holds an 85,908-square-foot building anchored by a 16-screen cinema, sits across Plaza Avenue from the rest of the parcels, facing Southlands main plaza.

The bulk of the Southlands square footage not involved in the transaction is home to Walmart, Sam’s Club and J.C. Penney, each of which owns its land and building. Flanking J.C. Penney are spaces leased to TJ Maxx and Michael’s, which were sold by Alberta Development and PCCP in 2006. The remainder of the square footage not involved in the deal–including Carpet Exchange, Long John Silver’s, Olive Garden, Red Lobster and several other outparcels—are owned by other investors who either acquired buildings or raw land from Alberta Development and PCCP.

Southlands’ outside leasing agent, David Hicks of David Hicks Lampert, did not return a Tuesday phone call seeking comment. According to his listing for the property, the area acquired by BlackRock has 22 retail availabilities totaling 66,467 square feet. The bulk of those vacancies front the development’s side streets, East State Avenue and East Commons Avenue. A pair of vacant 35,000-square-foot anchor spaces flanking the movie theater were not included in the transaction, according to county records.

It was not immediately clear what the vacancy rate was in the 171,000 square feet of office product within the development, but it would appear to be quite high. The Denver office of the brokerage firm Colliers Bennett lists approximately 161,000 square feet as available in five buildings fronting Main Street.