Sold for $2 Billion: 71 Shopping Centers

Greenway Commons shopping center at the corner of Richmond Avenue and Weslayan in Houston.

In Beachwood, Ohio, A joint venture of DDR Corp. and an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII has purchased 71 shopping centers from American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. for $1.93 billion.

Prior to the deal, American Realty’s portfolio included almost 500 properties in Texas, including the Costco-anchored Greenway Commons center in Houston at the northeast corner of Richmond Avenue and Weslayan. The 253,000-sf center sits on the former site of the Houston Independent School District headquarters building that critics called the “Taj Mahal.”

In selling off the 71 shopping centers to DDR/Blackstone, American Realty is purifying its portfolio, giving it more homogeneity.

“With the sale of our multi-tenant properties, we continue to focus on reducing complexity while strengthening the ARCP story as the leading, solely-focused net lease REIT,” said David S. Kay, Chief Executive Officer of American Realty, which will now focus on single-tenant, net-leased properties.

The transaction has closed. The DDR/Blackstone venture has purchased was is described as a “high-quality, well-located portfolio of power centers, grocery-anchored neighborhood centers and anchored community centers purchased by the joint venture includes 71 properties totaling 11.3 million sq ft in 25 states.”

DDR said the purchased portfolio primarily consists of prime power centers located in Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Phoenix and is occupied by high quality retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market, Costco, Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, and the TJX Companies.

In The Ddr Reit is an owner and manager of 456 value, oriented shopping centers representing 125 million sq ft in 42 states and Puerto Rico.