Super-Regional San Jose Mall Sells for $200M

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Pacific Retail Capital Partners keeps its partnership with Silverpeak Real Estate Partners alive with the joint venture acquisition of Eastridge, a 1.4 million-square-foot super-regional mall in San Jose, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley. The partners purchased the asset from General Growth Properties in a $200 million, off-market deal.

Eastridge dovetails perfectly with Pacific Retail’s acquisition strategy. “We are focused on principally major markets and on assets that have a solid prospect for continued transition into a better shopping experience,” Steve Plenge, managing principal with Pacific Retail, told CPE.

Spanning 113 acres, Eastridge first opened its doors to shoppers in 1971. The two-story enclosed shopping center had been kept in good shape by GGP, which bought the property in 1999 and later submitted it to a $140 million expansion and renovation in 2007. Another makeover is in store under the new ownership. Pacific Retail and Silverpeak will invest roughly $15 million in renovations at Eastridge. The partners have already kicked off their repositioning program, having closed a lease with popular fashion retailer H&M in conjunction with the acquisition.

Pacific Retail and Silverpeak’s purchase of Eastridge comes just three months after the team became co-owners of the 154,900-square-foot Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara, Calif., through the formation of a joint venture with institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The partners have an easy alliance. In 2014, Pacific Retail and Silverpeak joined forces with the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs on the acquisition of the 1.3 million-square-foot South Towne Center Mall and Marketplace in Sandy, Utah. And there’s likely more to come.

“Given our company has a more bespoke, boutique focus, we are finding that unique opportunities continue to exist, but are very selective,” Plenge added. Pacific Retail continues to eye major markets on the West Coast, as well as on the East Coast and select markets in the Midwest.