QIC Now Owns 49% of Forest City's Ballston Quarter

 

Ballston Quarter

ARLINGTON, VA—Forest City Realty Trust has finalized the addition of the Ballston Quarter to its QIC series. The REIT announced it would make this move last year — that is, create a joint venture with Australian institutional investment manager QIC Global Real Estate to invest in Ballston Quarter. QIC now owns a 49% equity stake in the 578,000-square foot mall, which is currently being redeveloped and will include a multifamily residential component. Forest City first announced the strategic capital partnership it had formed with QIC, or the Queensland Investment Corporation, in 2013. It was originally formed to invest in upgrades and renovations for eight of Forest City’s regional malls: Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Charleston Town Center in Charleston, WV; Mall at Robinson near Pittsburgh, Penn.; Promenade in Temecula, Calif.; Galleria at Sunset in Henderson, Nev.; Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale, Calif.; Short Pump Town Center in Richmond; and South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, Calif. Each of these properties is held in a separate JV with QIC that are structured in similar fashion but also reflect the specific valuation and cash flows of the particular mall. Likewise, a similar structure was created for the Ballston transaction, which is part of another wave of investments the duo is making. Forest City raised some $340 million in proceeds from its first eight retail centers and its QIC partnership. The Next Series At the end of last year, Forest City announced it would expanding its agreement with QIC to create a JV for Westchester’s Ridge Hill regional mall in Yonkers, New York, Ballston Quarter and the Shops at Wiregrass near Tampa, Fla. Together, the 49% stake sale of the Shops at Wiregrass and Ballston Quarter total $121.8 million in gross proceeds and estimated net proceeds of $60 million, according to marketing materials presented to investors. For the 1.3 million square foot Ridge Hill JV, Forest City retained 49% equity ownership and expects to receive approximately $90 million in total proceeds from the JV.