Continental Transfers Retail Assets to New Partnership

COLUMBUS, OH-Locally headquartered Continental Real Estate Companies has transferred $250 million worth of newer retail developments into a partnership with Rreef, a division of DB Real Estate, the real estate investment group of Deutsche Asset Management. In a vague announcement, Continental president David Kass says the move will allow the company to focus on “what we do best”–developing and managing retail properties.The assets include the Streets of Tanasbourne, a 386,000-sf lifestyle center located in the Sunset Corridor of Portland, OR; the Streets of West Chester, a 400,000-sf lifestyle center located in Butler County, just north of Cincinnati; the Galleria, a 250,000-sf, two-level enclosed lifestyle center, located in Mt. Lebanon, PA; Toringdon Market, a 60,000-sf grocery-anchored neighborhood center located in Charlotte, NC; Parkway Centre South, a 335,000-sf power center located in Grove City, OH; and, Giant Eagle a 75,000-sf store located in Westerville, OH. Many of the properties were either recently completed or are nearing completion. A third party spokesperson for Continental says the company is not releasing any additional detail at this time, such as how much of a stake each player has in the partnership, whether any cash or debt changed hands in the transaction or whether any other properties are slated for transfer into the partnership. A Rreef spokesperson also declined comment.A source familiar with the transaction tells GlobeSt.com that Continental will continue to manage the properties. Speculating on the strategic nature of the partnership, he says the move may free up some cash for Continental, allowing it to continue “aggressively” developing additional properties. Continental, which sold nearly one million sf of retail space to Inland Retail Real Estate Trust Inc. in late 2003 for $123.5 million, currently has 10 retail projects under development, including eight in Ohio (six in the Greater Columbus area), two in Charlotte, NC and two in Pittsburgh, PA. Over the past 15 years, Continental has developed more than 15 million sf of retail, multifamily and office uses in the US.