Mall Shopping

The Mills Corp. (Arlington, Va.) has acquired Del Amo Fashion Center (Torrance, Calif.) for a reported $442 million. And Simon Property Group Inc. (Indianapolis) said it will pay $333 million to buy the upscale Stanford Shopping Center (Palo Alto, Calif.), now being managed by Stanford University.

Del Amo Fashion Center, one of the three largest mall properties in the U.S., contains approximately 2.5 million square feet of gross leaseable area, including 785,000 square feet of anchor-owned space. It is anchored by Macy's, Macy's Home and Furniture Gallery, Sears, Robinson-May and JCPenney. Mills' preliminary plans involve the redevelopment of approximately 670,000 square feet of existing space.

Upon completion of the redevelopment, the center's gross leasable area is expected to exceed 2.6 million square feet, including 785,000 square feet of anchor-owned space.

Stanford Shopping Center, an open-air mall that features 1.3 million square feet of leasable space and such upscale retailers as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's and Macy's, had sales of more than $500 million last year, the new owner reported.

Simon said it will buy a 100 percent stake in the shopping center, in a deal expected to be closed in early August. Stanford University, which developed the mall in 1956 and uses revenues to support its teaching and research programs, will continue to hold a long-term lease for the ground beneath the mall, with Simon owning and managing the buildings.