2000: Two Big Sales on Opposite Ends of US

The turn of the millennium saw two major retail sales, on opposite sides of the country. In the Philadelphia neighborhood of Willow Grove, the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System teamed with Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust to buy Willow Grove Park. The 970,000-square-foot mall, located at 2500 Moreland Rd., sold for $146.5 million, or $151 per square foot. Cushman & Wakefield represented the sellers, a pension fund group managed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the US.

A few months later, in June, a joint venture of Japanese investors including Sogo Co. and Kowa Real Estate Investment sold Two Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills, CA for $131 million. The property's 129,000 square feet traded for $1,016 each in the Eastdil-brokered deal. The buyer was a consortium of Falcon Real Estate, StratReal and Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd.

2002: One of Nine Centers Gets $443M in $5.3B Portfolio Trade

There was a buying frenzy when Rodamco decided to shed its retail assets in the early 2000s. At the end of the day, the Netherlands-based private investment group sold nine of its assets on a three-way sale to Westfield America Trust, Simon Property Group and Rouse Co., unloading nine million square feet of retail space for $5.3 billion.

Rouse took ownership of the most expensive asset in the group, Oakbrook Center in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook. A 50% stake in the 1.6-million-square-foot asset brought in $443 million, or $276 per square foot and a 7.1% cap rate.

READ MORE HERE AND HERE

2003: Mills Bundles $442M for Del Amo Purchase

The Mills Corp. of Arlington, VA bought the 2.5-million-sf Del Amo Fashion Center for $442 million ($336 per sf) in one of the biggest retail deals in Southern California, latching onto one of the three largest shopping malls in the US. Mills is funding the purchase through a combination of debt and equity sources, including a $316-million mortgage closed at the acquisition time. Mills acquired the property from LA developer Guilford Glazer, whose Torrance Co. managed the it before the acquisition. Goldman Sachs spoke for the seller and originated the $316-million loan.

READ MORE HERE AND HERE

2004: GGP Gets Vegas Mall, Commits to More

Some $766 million gave ownership of Las Vegas' Grand Canal Shoppes to GGP in 2004, putting a new asset with more than $900 in sales per foot. Located in the Venetian Casino Resort on the Vegas Strip, GGP bought the 536,890-square-foot, 98% occupied center for a per-foot price of $1,427, and committed to pay $250 million for Phase II upon completion. The transaction had a 5.4% cap rate and was put together by Goldman Sachs on behalf of seller Sheldon Adelson.

READ MORE HERE

2005: MacFarlane Formally Acquires Time Warner Center Stake

San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners has formally acquired a minority 49.5% equity interest in the retail and parking-garage components of Time Warner Center in New York City. The investment is a co-ownership with center's developers, the Related Cos. and Apollo Real Estate Advisors, which continue to manage the property. The value was previously estimated to be around $450 million, or $1,331 per square foot. MacFarlane committed to purchase the equity stake in January 2003 and provided a $359-million loan to the developers that partially financed the construction of the retail and garage components. That loan was repaid concurrently with MacFarlane Partners' equity purchase.

Time Warner Center's retail venue, called the Shops at Columbus Circle, encompasses 338,000 sf of retail stores, restaurants, entertainment uses and grand public spaces on six lower floors of the complex. The parking garage accommodates 504 vehicles and offers 24-hour valet service. MacFarlane equity interest does not include Time Warner Center's other property uses. The company invested in the center as part of its joint venture with CalPERS to invest in urban infill properties in major metropolitan areas nationwide.

READ MORE HERE

2006: Record-Breaking CTL Deal Ends 2006

The $1.15-billion securitization of 340 CVS Corp. drugstore properties closed on Dec. 11, 2006. The $1.3-billion sale-leaseback of assets, either owned or ground leased and spread among 29 states that resulted in the 144A securities offering, is believed to be the largest retail sale-leaseback in US history. The loans backing CVS Lease-Backed Pass-Through Certificates Series 2006 mature in December 2028. The seller was a joint venture of the Staubach Co. and Fortress. READ MORE HERE

2006: Mall of America Flips in $1B Sale

The Ghermezian family, which runs Edmonton, Alberta-based Triple Five Group, gained 100% control of the Mall of America and all future development rights from partners Simon Property Group and TIAA-CREF in the fall of 2006. The deal, reportedly valued at more than $1 billion, follows years of lawsuits and conflict about the Minneapolis mall, which was conceived by the Ghermezians and Simon decades ago. Phase II of the Mall of America, which is zoned for up to 5.6 million sf on 42 acres, is working its way through the approvals process. An anchor of an early component of the Phase II expansion—a 306,000-sf IKEA—opened in 2004. Deutsche Bank originated $651 million in CBMS financing for the purchase.

READ MORE HERE

2007: Kimco Celebrates New Year With Crow Deal

Kimco Realty Corp. rang in 2007 by closing on the $920 million acquisition of 18 shopping centers and one mixed-use project formerly held by Crow Holdings. The transaction is part of an overall deal valued at $2.2 billion in which GE Capital Real Estate bought a 147-asset mixed use portfolio from Crow, and immediately shed non-strategic holdings. The properties in the Kimco purchase comprise 3.6 million sf and are located in nine markets. Sixteen of the 18 assets, accounting for $845.3 million of the price tag, went into a joint venture with Prudential Real Estate Investors; Kimco retained sole ownership of two retail properties and the mixed-use project. CB Richard Ellis and Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the sellers. READ MORE HERE AND HERE

2007: British Firm Buys $500M Condo Tower Site

British developer and investor CPC Group and Kaupthing Bank of Reykjavik, Iceland, paid $500 million for 9900 Wilshire, a former Robinson's-May department store, for a condo conversion project. The LEED-certified project will consist of a pair of 12-story towers, townhouses and two four-story loft building, all housing 252 units and 20,000 square feet of retail space, on the eight-acre site. Represented by CBRE, seller New Pacific Realty Corp. gained $1,516 per sf in the sale. READ MORE HERE

2008: Manhattan Retail Site Commands $525M

The Carlyle Group and Stanley Chera's Crown Acquisitions completed the acquisition in April 2008 of a controlling interest in the retail portion of 666 Fifth Ave. from the building's owner, Kushner Cos., for $525 million, factoring out to a per-sf price of $6,187. The 90,000-sf retail property is positioned on Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets and offers 200 feet of uninterrupted retail frontage on Fifth Avenue. Carlton Advisory Services arranged the venture between Carlyle, Crown and Kushner as well as the lending syndicate, which included Barclays and SL Green. The joint venture was represented by counsel, Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. READ MORE HERE

2008: Macerich, Alaska Buy MXD Center for $515M

A joint venture between Macerich, with corporate headquarters in Santa Monica, CA, and the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. bought the Shops at North Bridge, at 520 N. Michigan Ave. The Macerich Partnership LP is acquiring the property for $515 million, or $755 per sf and a 5% quotes cap rate. Represented by Rockwood Real Estate Advisors, the seller is a partnership between Chicago-based John Buck Co., which developed the project, the Morgan Stanley real estate funds and Westfield Group. The buyers assumed the $205 million balance of an existing loan with an interest rate of 4.67% and a maturation date of July 2009. The sale of 680,933-sf includes a four-level retail center, two parking garages with a total of 1,200 spaces and 133,615 sf of office space. READ MORE HERE

2009: CVS Stores Topped Year's Biggest Deals

The biggest transactions of 2009 didn't involve landmark or trophy retail properties. Rather, a pair of portfolio deals involving CVS pharmacy stores accounted for a large chunk of the investment volume. This is also a prime indication of market conditions at the time; in a slow, uncertain economy, investors sought out need-based retail assets. In 2009, it seems, net lease reigned.

In February, Toronto's Cadillac Fairview paid $657 million for a 49% interest in a nearly one-million-sf package of CVS stores across the US from Macerich Co. the purchase price included a payment of $150 million and $167-million debt assumption. In a slightly less complicated transaction four months later, Dallas-based Landes Group picked up 122 locations from CVS in a $495-million sale-leaseback.

2010: Centro Sells Majority Stake in Properties for $471M

Around year-end, a subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. formed a joint venture with Centro NP Residual Holding LLC to acquire 25 retail shopping centers. The complicated deal, which totals roughly $471 million, involved Centro selling the portfolio into the JV, which then placed a $310-million CMBS loan on 24 properties to complete the acquisition. The properties, totaling about 4.5 million square feet, are primarily grocery-anchored or necessity-based community shopping centers located in 13 states primarily in the Eastern US. The new JV provides Inland American with a significant equity stake and certain governance rights in the recapitalized portfolio, in addition to a preferred capital position and a preferred return. READ MORE HERE