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EUGENE, OR-The Macerich Co. of Santa Monica, CA has been handed the management and leasing assignment for Valley River Center, the approximately 1.1-million-sf super regional mall here that is one of the largest retail properties between Portland and San Francisco. Privately held Grosvenor owns the mall. General Growth Properties previously had the assignment. The assignment gives publicly traded Macerich two properties in Oregon. The other is Washington Square, a 1.2-million-sf mall near Interstate 5 in Tigard, that is undergoing a 100,000-sf expansion. Macerich owns that mall in a joint venture with Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd.Located a few minutes from Interstate 5 at the junction of Delta Highway and Valley River Drive, Valley River Center originally opened in 1969 and was expanded in 1974 and 1989. The mall, which generates mall store sales of just under $410 per sf, is anchored by JC Penney (218,000 sf), Meier & Frank (181,000 sf), Bon-Macy (124,000 sf) and Copeland Sports (52,000 sf). Negotiations are under way to re-tenant the mall's vacant 120,000-sf Montgomery Ward building, according to a company announcement. Other nationally known retailers at the mall include Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft, Talbots, Barnes & Noble, Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. The mall serves a primary market of 124,000 households within a 20-mile radius. As the region's largest retail center, the mall reaches out to a total market of 730,000 residents in 289,000 households within a 60-mile radius. Average household income for this area is just under $55,000, with 32.7% earning better than $75,000. Dave Olson, Grosvenor's head of asset management and leasing for its US properties, did not return a phone call seeking comment. "Macerich is very strong on the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest," he says in a prepared statement. "We felt that their leasing and management expertise could help increase the value of our property." Macerich SVP Susan Valentine also was unavailable for comment. In a prepared statement, Macerich's VP of property management for the Northwest Mike Johnson says the mall "is exactly the type of property that allows us to hit the ground running from day-one." The company's VP of leasing for the Northwest Bruce Johnston adds that the company's objectives are to "bring better price-point merchants to the property that are currently not represented in this market" and bolster merchandise offerings in the home goods category.