The centers, which total 9.6 million sf, are Briarwood Mall, in Ann Arbor, MI; Columbus (OH) City Center; The Falls, in Miami; Hilltop Mall, in Contra Costa County, CA; Lakeforest Mall, in Gaithersburg, MD; The Mall at Tuttle Crossing, in Columbus, OH; Marley Station, in Glen Burnie, MD; Meadowood Mall, in Reno, NV; Stoneridge Mall, in Pleasanton, CA. The malls were managed for GMAM by the Bloomfield Hills, MI-based Taubman Centers, which will cease overseeing the properties on Nov. 1.

Mills officials say tenant sales at the malls were $2.1 billion last year. The locally based company is funding the purchase with the assumption of $170 million of property debt, $410 million on three of the centers the company is acquiring, and a $200 million loan from JPMorgan.

Mills, known for its large value megamalls, first started acquiring traditional malls in 2002, when the company bought six properties for $621 million. The firm is remodeling many of them, including the 2.1 million-sf Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, CA where it is adding an outdoor lifestyle center and an AMC theater.