Northpark Mall owner buys North Carolina mall

(From CBL & Associates, owner of Northpark Mall in Joplin)

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE:CBL) announced today that it had closed on the acquisition of Mayfaire Town Center and Community Center, the premier open-air center located in the affluent coastal market of Wilmington, NC. The property was acquired for a total cash purchase price of $192 million from a partnership between BrodyCo Inc. and Zimmer Development Company.

“Mayfaire Town Center represents a tremendous opportunity for CBL. While we have not prioritized acquisitions recently from a capital allocation point of view, this asset is a perfect fit with our portfolio and the goals of our portfolio transformation strategy,” said Stephen D. Lebovitz, president and chief executive officer. “This market-dominant center serves as the preeminent retail destination in the three-county region with no comparable competition for more than 100 miles. Its sales place it in our Tier 1 asset pool, and the center has huge potential for future growth in both sales and income given the in-place single-digit occupancy cost, opportunities to upgrade the retailer and restaurant mix and the near-term expansion on available land. It will also enjoy a synergistic relationship with our other assets in the Carolinas, primarily Friendly Center in Greensboro, NC, one of our most successful properties generating strong growth in NOI, sales and consistent demand from high quality retailers, including the recently opened Lululemon store. We expect similar success from Mayfaire Town Center and are extremely excited about its addition to the CBL portfolio.”

Lebovitz added, “We anticipate funding this acquisition on a leverage-neutral basis. Year to date, we have completed nearly $60 million in non-core asset sales and expect to fund the remainder through additional near-term non-core asset transactions.”

Mayfaire Town Center is a 610,000-square-foot open-air center anchored by Belk and a 16-screen Regal Cinema, featuring an IMAX theater, as well as junior anchors, including The Fresh Market, Cost Plus/World Market, Pottery Barn, ULTA and Michael’s. The center offers leading retail brands, such as Chico’s, Francesca’s Collection, J. Crew, White House | Black Market and Williams Sonoma and restaurants, including Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, Which Wich and Zoe’s Kitchen. The acquisition also includes developable land accommodating up to 75,000 square feet of additional retail.

Mayfaire Community Center is a 210,000-square-foot center anchored by a high-performing Harris Teeter, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Marshalls and PetSmart as well as 48,000 square feet of retailer shops, including Panera Bread Co., New Balance, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Verizon.

Mayfaire Town Center and Community Center are 92.5% occupied. The center generates more than $200 million in sales annually with shop sales of $385 per square foot.

The center is ideally located along Military Cutoff Road near its intersection with Eastwood Road (US Route 74), approximately two miles from the major I-40 interchange. Eastwood Road is the main thoroughfare that leads to the popular beach destination of Wrightsville Beach, where median home prices are nearly $1.0 million. The city of Wilmington has a diverse and growing economic base. Tourism contributes nearly $1 billion annually to the three-county area. The area’s luxury beaches, first-class golf courses and prosperous community, including the exclusive Figure Eight Island, attract a thriving dedicated tourist population with over 1.5 million visitors annually, adding to the rising existing population of over 360,000 people. Major employers include the New Hanover County Regional Health System, New Hanover County Schools, General Electric and Verizon. Wilmington is notably one of the top ports in the United States, handling more than $7 billion in cargo annually. The market has an active student population, serving as home to UNC-Wilmington with more than 14,000 students and Cape Fear Community College, the largest community college in the state with more than 27,000 students. Wilmington also boasts the largest film studio in the United States outside of Los Angeles, consistently ranking it as one of the most popular filmmaking locations in the nation.

Mayfaire Town Center and Community Center form the heart of a 400-acre master-planned development featuring 84 condominiums located above first-floor retail called Mayfaire Townview, which contribute to the active live, work, play environment. Additionally, the development includes 264 Class-A apartments called The Reserve at Mayfaire, 208 luxury condominiums called The Village at Mayfaire, Mayfaire Business Park, a 300,000-square-foot Class-A business park, and Parkside Residential Development, a 30-acre single-family residential development that includes 108 home sites with prices of up to $1.0 million.