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By Nathan Donato-Weinstein
Real Estate Reporter, Silicon Valley Business Journal
Jan 15, 2016, 1:55pm PST
Updated Jan 15, 2016, 6:04pm PST
Sn Jose's Estridge Mll, one o the lrgest shopping centers in the South By, hs sold in del
vlued t more thn $200 million to n investment group tht plns to pump millions into
revitliztion.
The group bcked by Goldmn Schs — Pci c Retil Prtners nd Silverpek Rel Estte Prtners —
cquired the mjority o the 1.4 million squre oot center on Sn Jose's est side, they nnounced on
Fridy. The seller ws Generl Growth Properties. An exct price ws not disclosed, but the buyers sid
the cquisition ws worth "more thn $200 million" nd ws completed o -mrket.
The del shows continued investor interest in trditionl, enclosed shopping mlls despite
chllenging nd rpidly chnging retil environment s online shopping rises questions bout the
long-term vibility o brick-nd-mortr centers.
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But the buyers sid they remined bullish on the mll business in generl nd Estridge in prticulr.
Also on Fridy, they nnounced they hve seled lese with "st-shion" drling H&M to join the
tennt lineup with 23,000-squre-oot store, nd would invest $15 million in updting the center.
Some o tht will go towrd reshening pint, lndscping, signge nd the ply re.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/01/15/san-joses-eastridge-mall-sold-in-retail-megadeal.html 1/13
9/26/2020 San Jose's Eastridge Mall sold to Goldman Sachs, Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners. - Silicon Valley Business Jou…
"It’s gret sset," Steve Plenge, mnging principl o operting prtner Pci c Retil Cpitl
Prtners, sid in n interview. "We think this prt o Sn Jose, Est Sn Jose, is doing nothing but
getting better economiclly. Generl Growth hs done terri c job tking the sset to where it is right
now."
Sles o mlls in Silicon Vlley hve been ew nd r between in recent yers. The most recent del
ws the cquisition o Vllco Shopping Mll in Cupertino in series o trnsctions vlued t more
thn $300 million. But tht cquisition, by Menlo Prk's Snd Hill Property Co., ws or the demolition
nd redevelopment o the lnd.
Stcked up by squre ootge, Estridge rnks highly in Silicon Vlley's pntheon o mlls. It is second
on The Business Journl's Lrgest Shopping Center List, slotting in just under West eld's Vlley Fir,
nd bove Simon Property Group's Gret Mll o Milpits. Simon's Stnord Shopping Center comes in
ourth.
Situted on 113 cres, the two-level Estridge includes 150 shops nd resturnts, including nchors
AMC Theters, JCPenney, Mcy’s nd Sers. Bsed on property records, the new ownership ppered
to cquire bout 842,000 squre eet o lesble spce not owned by Sers nd Mcy's, which continue
to own their 22-cre nd 16-cre pieces o the mll, respectively.
The property ws built in the erly 1970s nd hs gone through severl chnges o ownership, most
recently lnding with Generl Growth in 1999. In 2007, Generl Growth completed $140 million
expnsion nd renovtion o the mll. Most recently, the mll welcomed 24 Hour Fitness nd
Round 1 bowling lley.
The mll hs never competed with the more glmorous, high-end centers like West eld Vlley Fir,
Sntn Row or Stnord Shopping Center. But vetern retil broker Dvid Txin sid the mll hs been
doing well, nd tht it comes with the possibility o more development thnks to cres nd cres o
extr lnd, primrily surce prking.
"The ply there is the extr lnd," sid Txin, o Mechm/Oppenheimer CORFAC Interntionl. "The
mll itsel is in pretty good shpe nd does pretty good numbers. It’s ll ull, nd ull o ntionl
retilers. It does some serious volume."
Indeed, Generl Growth's most recent ernings report pegged the mll t 97.3 percent lesed.
Yet it's cler tht the mll business is cing threts s the trditionl nchor stores like Sers nd
Penney continue to shrink. Just this week, Sers con rmed it would close its Sn Mteo store,
Peninsul stlwrt or genertions.
Estridge hs exposure to severl retilers who hve been wekened in recent yers, including Penney,
Mcy's, Sers nd Brnes & Noble — something Pci c Retil's Plenge is well wre o.
"It’s question on lot o investors' minds, becuse they’re ubiquitous," he sid. "But hving sid tht,
they’re not ll struggling. We obviously did very detiled, grnulr vetting o the nncil helth o
ll the retilers in this property, including the nchors. Mcy's nd Penney hve very, very robust
sles. This is one o the top Sers in the chin."
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/01/15/san-joses-eastridge-mall-sold-in-retail-megadeal.html 2/13
9/26/2020 San Jose's Eastridge Mall sold to Goldman Sachs, Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners. - Silicon Valley Business Jou…
As or the uture o the lrger shopping-center business, Plenge sid it's ll bout evolving to meet your
customers' chnging tstes. "You hve to provide ctivities nd experiences the customer wnts —
whether it’s dining or entertinment, such s with Round 1, or being ble to see movie," he sid. "One
thing we’ll try to do is better ppel to milies, upgrding the ply re. We’re going to look to urther
enhncing the restrooms, mking tht more plesnt experience, nd sme with the ood court. The
generl cosmetics will certinly improve."
Plenge lso sid tht the center will work to ppel to the diverse demogrphics o est Sn Jose. One
possibility is to bring in grocer trgeting the Asin mrket.
The del is the ltest or Pci c Retil, n opertor with eight properties in its portolio tht Plenge
describes s "boutique." The compny ws ormed in 2007 by group o retil veterns with
experience t mrquee retil opertors like Federl Relty nd West eld. With vriety o cpitl
prtners, Pci c Retil's portolio includes West Oks Mll in Houston; Yorktown Center in suburbn
Chicgo; Colonie Center outside Albny, New York; South Towne Center in Sndy, Uth; Queen
K’humnu Center on Mui; nd Pseo Nuevo in Snt Brbr.
Plenge sid Pci c Retil looks or "trnsitionl" properties where sles, mrket penetrtion nd
"generl chrcteristics" cn be improved in three- to ve-yer period.
"Our growth is relly bout continuing to look in mjor mrkets or trnsitionl properties with gret
loctionl chrcteristics nd mcro undmentls, where we cn see clerly we cn mke
di erence."
The Estridge del cme together reltively quickly — in bout 90 dys — but Plenge sid he hs long
been n dmirer o the mll. He declined to sy how the del ws structured or n exct price, but
con rmed tht Goldmn Schs is the mjority owner. Lesing will be hndled by BMW Relty
Advisors.
"I hd wtched it go up nd down over the decdes, nd wtched Generl Growth commit sizble
equity commitment over the yers," he sid. "In 2007 they spent $140 million expnding nd
renovting, nd they did relly good job."
The lrger neighborhood is lso undergoing chnges. Just south o Quimby Rod, Hunter Properties is
working with property owner Arcdi Development on 344,000-squre-oot retil center. About 276
single-mily homes re lso plnned.
In ddition, Estridge is slted eventully to be connected to downtown Sn Jose through the VTA's
Bus Rpid Trnsit project, which is under construction but behind schedule.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/01/15/san-joses-eastridge-mall-sold-in-retail-megadeal.html 3/13