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[ articles | activities | features | links ] Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Volusia Mall sells for $119MTHOMAS S. BROWN DAYTONA BEACH — CBL & Associates Properties Inc., the biggest shopping center operator in the Southeast, has paid $119 million to buy Volusia Mall, citing the mall’s potential to produce greater income. With its purchase, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL got 1 million square feet of leasable space from Faison & Associates in Charlotte, N.C., which paid $93.5 million for the same property six years ago. “When we look for properties, we look for dominant malls in middle markets,” said Deborah Gibb, CBL’s director of corporate relations. “Volusia Mall is a perfect fit for us.” The purchase included the mall’s specialty-store space and parking areas but not its anchor stores, which are owned by their respective retailers. CBL representatives said they were attracted by the mall’s annual sales volume of $368 per square foot of floor space. That compares with a $345 average rate nationwide, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported. The mall’s occupancy rate of 89.4 percent is slightly below last year’s national average of 92.5 percent, the New York City-based council said. Charles B. Levovitz, CBL’s chief executive, said the mall has no major competition within 30 miles, a solid lineup of anchors “and potential upside from new and renewal leasing.” That’s corporate-speak for higher rents in the future. However, nothing is going to change right away, CBL officials emphasized. They will meet with store managers Wednesday to introduce themselves and show support for the mall’s existing management. A CBL leasing agent will arrive soon to join mall manager Wayne Bohl, who has overseen the mall since 1994. Kelly Sargent, CBL’s director of investor relations, said the 30-year-old mall received a facelift in 1996 and no further renovations are planned in the near future. However, CBL is considering building a second direct entrance into the mall to make it easier for customers to get to specialty shops without cutting through anchor stores. CBL, a publicly owned real estate investment trust, is required to pass along most of its profits to shareholders each quarter. Levovitz said rental income is equal to a yield of 7.64 percent. Charles Lichtigman, president of Charles Wayne Properties, the area’s largest commercial real estate broker, said CBL paid what he termed an “aggressive market price” for a secondary mall. It’s a sign, he said, “that we are a rapidly growing market, a market in which the demographics are trending upward.” All existing anchors will remain in place. They include three Dillard stores totaling 330,000 square feet, a Sears, a JCPenney and a Burdine’s. In all, CBL owns 164 commercial properties in 25 states, including 59 regional malls.
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