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ATR In The News |
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NASHVILLE'S FIRST SHOPPING MALL COULD BE SOLD
By RICHARD LAWSON Nashville's first shopping mall could be on tap for major facelift if a deal closes with a new owner, only the second since 1968, sources have told NashvillePost.com. Early next month, an undisclosed developer is set to buy 100 Oaks Mall, which opened in the late 1960s at Thompson Lane and Interstate 65. The Belz family of Memphis, which owns the Peabody Hotel in Memphis as well as other real estate in Nashville and Memphis, has been an owner in the property since 1965. In 1995, Belz Investment Co. transferred the property to 100 Oaks L.P., according to property records. State records show the limited partnership's principal office as Estein & Associates USA Ltd., a real estate investor in Orlando, Fla. It is understood that Belz retains partial ownership in the property. Estein & Associates is a major real estate investment player around the country. At one time, it owned Belz Factory Outlet Mall in Las Vegas. The 477,000-square-foot mall was sold in 2003. In April, its prospective $256 million deal with Parkway Properties Inc. for 70 percent of a 1-million-square-foot Chicago office tower fell through. The price for 100 Oaks could be big, possibly in the mid-$50 million range, according to a source familiar with the asking price but not part of the current deal. Metro has the 750,000 square-foot property appraised at $50.3 million. This deal has been in the works since late spring. A Belz spokesman hasn't gotten back to NashvillePost.com today for comment. A Belz official contacted two months ago wouldn't comment. Sources say the mall could get new retail tenants. Retail names that have floated around include Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City and Kohl's. And unused portions of the mall would be opened for office use. As much as 135,000 square feet of office space is being marketed. Brokers say CB Richard Ellis is involved with the deal, but representatives at the firm wouldn't comment. The mall has had a bumpy history, with signs of life and signs of imminent death at various times. Development of other malls in the decades after it opened cut into business, yet it continued on with other tenants. The mall has been a revolving door for tenants. Media Play left early this year because of bankruptcy. Mars, a music-instrument retailer, though it had a profitable location, also left because of corporate bankruptcy. J.C. Penney was a one-time tenant but left when the company as whole struggled financially. Off Fifth, a Saks Fifth Avenue outlet store, left as well. Current tenants at the mall include CompUSA, Michaels, Reebok, Ross Dress for Less and Guitar Center, the latter two are among the newest. Its biggest and likely most profitable tenant isn't in the mall but beside it – Regal Cinemas' Hollywood 27. |
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