Macerich Sells Sprawling Lakewood Center Mall in SoCal for $332M

One of the largest and busiest malls in California has traded hands in one of the priciest real estate deals in Los Angeles County so far this year. 

Retail giant Macerich has unloaded Lakewood Center, a nearly 2.1 million-square-foot shopping center near the border between L.A. and Orange counties, for $332.1 million. The buyers — a joint venture of Pacific Retail Capital Partners (PRCP), Lyon Living and investment firm Silverpeak — aim to redevelop the property in Lakewood, Calif., into a mixed-use “community hub,” via a new master development plan. CoStar first reported the sale price. 

Constructed in 1950 — four years before the City of Lakewood was incorporated — Lakewood Center is the second-largest, single-level mall in L.A. County. Nearly 22 million people visit the mall every year, marking it third in California and sixth in the nation for annual foot traffic, per PRCP. The 89 percent occupied mall is anchored by Costco, Target, Macy’s and Best Buy. 

“Lakewood Center is more than a shopping destination — it’s a landmark of postwar American development, a cornerstone of the Lakewood community and a symbol of how retail can evolve alongside the people it serves,” Steve Plenge, the CEO of PRCP said in a statement. “Since opening in 1950, the property has adapted to the cultural, economic and demographic shifts of Southeast L.A., emerging as one of the most highly trafficked malls in the country, and consistently generating over $1 billion in annual sales. . . . Our vision is to honor that heritage while transforming Lakewood Center into a next-generation mixed-use destination — one that meets the needs of a thriving, diverse community and continues to anchor regional vitality for decades.”

Specific details about the developers’ plans, and a time frame for the redevelopment, were not immediately available. 

Although sold for half of its assessed 2015 value of $630 million, Lakewood Center’s still-hefty price tag is hardly surprising given the rebound of physical retail spaces lately. Still, the sale represents the latest divestment from Macerich in Southern California as part of its strategy to reduce debt and refocus on its highest-performing “fortress” properties, such as Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos, Calif. 

Last June, for example, Macerich defaulted on $300 million in debt tied to Santa Monica Place, a 527,000-square-foot mall in Santa Monica, and ultimately handed the keys back to the firm’s lenders. Later that fall, Macerich sold The Oaks, a 1.3 million-square-foot mall in Thousand Oaks, Calif., to Stockdale Capital Partners for $157 million. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.