PREIT Buys Springfield Town Center for $465M

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has finally completed its planned acquisition of the Springfield Town Center in Springfield, Va. The newly redeveloped property changed hands for an impressive $465 million. Vornado Realty Trust was the seller.

PREIT first announced its intention to buy the 1.4 million-square-foot mall on March 3, 2014. The deal called for Vornado to receive $340 million in cash and $125 million in PREIT operating partnership units, making the New York-based firm a passive investor in the Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust. According to PREIT, the acquisition also includes the rights to develop more than 3 million square feet of additional space.

Springfield Town Center opened in 1973 as Springfield Mall at the intersection of I-95, I-395 and the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County, one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. The large retail property features 642,000 square feet of anchor space and 703,000 square feet of non-anchor space.

In 2012, Vornado started work on a $250 million redesign and renovation project for the mall. Springfield Town Center reopened on Oct. 17, 2014, with a new grand entrance, a food court with an indoor/outdoor patio area, a 12-screen Regal Cinema and many other new features.

In October, PREIT said the mall was 81 percent occupied, including anchors. Since then, 60,000 square feet of new leases have been executed; almost 64,000 square feet of tenant space is expected to open for business during the second quarter of the year, including the eagerly anticipated Nordstrom Rack.

Photo credit: www.springfieldtowncenter.com