The Westfield South Shore mall on Long Island and the Westfield Trumbull mall in Connecticut were sold for $196 million last week, much to the surprise of local employees.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), a French commercial real estate company that previously owned the malls, sold them to reduce its debt.
Now-defunct Australian shopping center company Westfield Group owned these malls before ceasing operations in 2014. Westfield Group purchased the Trumbull mall in 1977 and the South Shore mall in 1986. Westfield Group’s locations in the United States were then acquired by URW in 2018.
Both malls have been reportedly successful despite online shopping trends and complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Westfield South Shore mall had its rent increase to $40 per square foot last year, and was in the 88th percentile of the submarket, indicating economic prosperity and safety, according to Newsday.
The Westfield Trumbull mall has an occupancy rate of 85% with popular tenants, such as Macy’s and Target, and has recently installed a SeaQuest aquarium to attract more shoppers.
Trumbull First Selectman Vicki Tesoro told Hearst Connecticut Media that she was aware of the sale, but was not notified that a deal had been made. The mall employs more than 3,000 people in the town, making up roughly 20% of its workforce.
Both towns will be receiving substantial funds from the sales via conveyance taxes.
Long Island-based Namdar Realty Group, the buyer of both properties, has not announced whether it will keep the malls or redevelop the land.
