Chicago-based REIT buys Foothills Mall

FORT COLLINS – General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP), the nation’s second-largest shopping center owner and manager, has acquired the Foothills Mall in Fort Collins, as well as three surrounding retail properties.

General Growth Properties closed on the purchase this afternoon at 2 p.m.

The deal ends the 30-year-long ownership of Fort Collins-based Everitt Enterprises, which built the regional mall in 1973.

Prior to the sale to General Growth, Everitt was a 50 percent partner in the property, in partnership with Phoenix-based Westcorp Limited.

In all, General Growth Properties took over four retail centers in Fort Collins – the Foothills Mall, The Shops at Foothills Mall, The Commons at Foothills Mall and The Plaza at Foothills Mall – totaling 802,240 square feet.

The prize in the deal was Foothills Mall, which covers about 600,000 square feet. The mall, which is 95 percent occupied, includes department anchors Foleys, Sears, J.C. Penney and Mervyn’s. Average sales at the center’s non-anchor stores – representing about 260,000 square feet – is $325 per square foot.

General Growth Properties acquired the Foothills properties as part of a larger purchase that included two other malls, the Chico Mall in Chico, Calif., and the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Ore.

The entire deal was valued at $221 million. The individual value of each mall was not reported.

General Growth Properties has agreed to keep the management and operations staff at the Foothills properties, which includes about 40 people, said Jack Gillum, vice president of Everitt Companies.

General Growth has a track record of redeveloping older regional malls, including in Colorado. The company also owns Chapel Hills Mall in Colorado Springs and Southwest Plaza in Littleton, both of which have recently gone through expansion and renovation, Gillum said.

“We felt it was the right time to get involved with a company that has strength and expertise in the redevelopment of regional malls,” Gillum said. “These guys are one of the best there is. We’re just thrilled to have them spearhead the future of the center — They can take it to the next level.”

on Facebook on LinkedIn