JACLYN TROP
The Detroit News
Two Metro Detroit malls have new owners, signaling renewed interest in Michigan retail.
Shoppers aren't likely to see major changes at Westland Shopping Center in Westland or Fairlane Green in Allen Park, but the purchases show optimism that the retail market will improve.
"No one invests in a property if they don't feel there's an upside," said Earl Clements, Michigan state director for the International Council of Shopping Centers.
The down economy means developers can buy shopping centers more cheaply with the hope of filling vacancies and charging higher rents when shoppers hit the malls again.
Westland Shopping Center is a stable regional mall with high occupancy rates (90 percent among long-term tenants, 97.5 percent when including temporary retailers), said Tommy Miller, president of Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Properties Co., which acquired the property last month. The mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Macy's, Sears and Kohl's.
"Sales are lower than you'd like them to be, but that's more a factor of the economy," said Miller, who declined to name the mall's purchase price.
Trademark hopes to turn the center into a major regional player now that many of the surrounding big box retailers have decamped to Canton Township, where plans for a shopping center are under way.
West Bloomfield developer Lormax Stern bought big box retail outlet Fairlane Green this week with plans to boost occupancy and add to a lineup that includes Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond and T.J. Maxx, said partner Daniel Stern.
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