Macerich sells Tucson center to fuel its town center strategy with $100 million

Macerich, one of the top 20 owners of retail real estate in the U.S., has sold La Encatada, a high-end specialty center in Tucson for $165 million, generating $100 million in liquidity.

With this deal, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based developer has used its strategy of disposing of non-core assets to generate more than $200 million of liquidity during the first three quarters of 2021. In March, it sold 95% of Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix for $95 million.

"In addition to sales of these properties, we are successfully executing on a robust land and pad sale program, from which we expect to generate an additional $100 million during the next two years," said Macerich president Ed Coppola.

La Encantada is a 246,000-sq.-ft. open-air center that draws an affluent customer base with retailers that include Pottery Barn, Coach, Kendra Scott, Crate& Barrel, Tiffany & Company, and West Elm. Its restaurant list features Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Ra Sushi Bar, and North Italia.

"Our focused disposition efforts are designed to allow us to recycle capital into key densification and diversification activities, as we continue to realize our town center strategy at a number of Macerich properties across the country,” Coppola said.

Macerich currently owns 49 million sq. ft. of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 45 regional malls and town centers, maintaining a significant presence in Arizona, along the Northeast Corridor from New York to Washington, D.C., and on the West Coast.

Its centers include Fashion District in Philadelphia (co-owned with PREIT), Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, Calif., Los Angeles Premium Outlets, The Marketplace at Flagstaff, and Tysons Corner Center in Tysons Corner, Va., outside of D.C.