Regency Square Mall Thread

[thelakelander]

I'm away from the computer but the Jax Daily Record has a detailed story on this. Evidently, this group also purchased Desoto Square in Bradenton a year ago. So far, only one new tenant has moved in. Hopefully, Regency will have better luck.

[coredumped]

Here ya go:

A New York-based venture of Mason Asset Management Inc. and Namdar Realty Group LLC has a contract to buy the Regency Square Mall, one of the area's first major regional shopping centers but one that has experienced tough times.

Mason and Namdar, both based in Great Neck, N.Y., are expected to complete the purchase as soon as this week, according to sources who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the deal.

Igal Namdar, president of Namdar Realty, confirmed the deal Monday. Asked if Mason and Namdar had a contract to buy Regency Square Mall, Namdar responded: "That is correct."

Plans for Regency might mirror those for DeSoto Square in Manatee County.

In November 2012, the Bradenton.com news website reported that Mason Asset Management acquired Manatee County's only indoor shopping mall for about $25 million from Simon Property Group Inc.

At the height of the real estate boom in 2004, DeSoto Square was valued at $80.2 million, property records show.

The news site said Mason bought the mall with plans to restore traffic at the aging shopping center with a facelift and heightened security.

How did Nassim do?

Last November, a year after the purchase, the HeraldTribune.com site said tenants remained hard to come by, a cross fit gym was the only new business to open and there was a question whether Macy's would leave once the Mall at University Town Center opened this year. Macy's is now listed on the new mall's website.

Full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=542218

[JayBird]

^ So I am assuming the business model for Rockwood is to buy distressed properties, suck what they can out of them, and wait for area to improve and a fat wallet developer to come calling?

[coredumped]

Why was my post edited?

[thelakelander]

We're trying to cut down on copying and pasting full length articles from other media sites. We've been fielding a few complaints from some places in town.

Unless, given permission by the original source, the best thing to do when sharing articles from other sources is probably to post a few sentences to a paragraph or so and include a link back to the full article.

[coredumped]

Thanks for the reply.
Back on topic - after all this news now I wonder what will happen with the plan/rumor about tearing part of the mall down.

[duvaldude08]

Thanks for the reply.
Back on topic - after all this news now I wonder what will happen with the plan/rumor about tearing part of the mall down.

Yeah same here. I think it would be ideal to shrink it, and completely renovate it. Whatever they do I hope its sucessful. I always tell people I grew up with Regency and would hate to see it go.

[thelakelander]

A little reading on Mason's strategy for DeSoto Square Mall:

BRADENTON — The buyer of DeSoto Square mall plans to renovate the facility into a discount oriented shopping center, according to a commercial retail broker familiar with the deal.

The undisclosed buyer has intentions to raze several walls to give the facility an open feel, Berman said. The firm also will work to inject more discount stores like Costco, Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, and Sears Outlet Appliance Center.

DeSoto's anchor tenants now include Macy's, JC Penney and Sears.

Full article: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/06/05/4066071_buyer-for-desoto-square-mall-looking.html

[pierre]

Costco is a discount store?

[thelakelander]

In Sarasota it is. That article mentioning Costco must have been in reference to a Costco opening up in the old Dillard's spot at Sarasota Square Mall.

At least one idea that seems to have gained traction involves converting DeSoto Square into a more discount-oriented retail center.

"The Bradenton area has its own demographic around that mall," Seidel said. "There are people there that won't be lured by the bigger malls and would rather go to a discount center closer to their home."

Hybrid centers have become more popular in recent years as many malls grappled with downturn-inspired vacancies and few expanding retail ventures.

In this region, at Westfield's Sarasota Square Mall, Costo Warehouse Corp. replaced a shuttered Dillard's department store that had closed during the Great Recession. The August debut of the wholesale food, electronics and home goods store inside an enclosed mall was well received, and has since breathed new life into what was eroding into a second-tier mall.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121219/ARTICLE/312199989?p=3&tc=pg

Man, I'm getting old.  I remember eating at Morrison's in Desoto Square and when Sarasota Square was a first-tier mall.

[thelakelander]

So, Regency sold for pennies on a dollar. The buyer also purchased the Dillard's store, which was a separate piece of property.

Regency Square Mall sells for $13M, had taxable value of $34.6M

By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor
A New York-based venture of Mason Asset Management Inc. and Namdar Realty Group LLC bought Regency Square Mall for $13 million, about a third of its taxable value.

The deed was signed Friday and recorded this morning with the Duval County Clerk of Court.

Mason and Namdar are based in Great Neck, N.Y., and invest in aging shopping centers that have suffered declines in occupancy and prestige.

Documents show the group bought 12 parcels at the 9501 Arlington Expressway mall that were valued at almost $34.6 million for tax purposes in 2013.

Regency Mall Realty LLC, Regency CH LLC and Regency Nassim LLC, partnerships formed by the venture, bought the properties from GGP Regency Square LLC.

Sears and Dillard's own their stores, but it appears Dillard's was part of the sale. Deed documents with the sale show that the Dillard's store is included in the acquisition.

The Sears store was not immediately identifiable as one of the 12 properties, and Sears issued a statement last week that an expected Regency Square sale "has no impact on Sears. We continue to serve our members and customers at Regency Square, and remain committed to the Jacksonville community."

Full article: http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=542291

[FSBA]

Pretty much confirms Dillards is leaving the mall once Sleiman's development is built.

If the plan is to turn Regency into an outlet mall, what stores would they attract?

[JayBird]

JBJ and others are reporting Dillard's wasn't part of the sale.

But, am I the only one who thinks a redeveloped retail mall will not work? Maybe if it included a mix of apartments and offices as well.

[coredumped]

Pretty much confirms Dillards is leaving the mall once Sleiman's development is built.

Wasn't Sleiman's development rumored to have a Belk, not Dillards? I'm thinking of the one down atlantic near kernan.

[thelakelander]

Yes. Belk is most likely headed to Sleiman's development when that store is completed.