Samuels & Co. completes 5 deals for Merlin Entertainments

Los Angeles --Samuels & Co. Inc. said it has recently completed five transactions for Merlin Entertainments Group, the second largest location-based entertainment company in the world which develops, owns and operates outdoor theme parks and indoor attractions.

A 33,000-sq.-ft. LEGOLAND Discovery Center opened on March 31 at Grapevine Mills Mall (owned by Mills/Simon Property Group, Inc.), Grapevine, Texas. A 30,000-sq.-ft. SEA LIFE Center aquarium will open in July 2011, directly across the hall from the LEGOLAND Discovery Center and across a plaza from the recently renovated AMC Theaters.

In Atlanta, Simon Property Group’s Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, Ga., pursued Merlin for a 32,000-sq.-ft. LEGOLAND Discovery Center, slated to open April 2012.

Another combination of LEGOLAND Discovery Center and SEA LIFE Center aquarium will open in May/June 2012 in Crown Center located in downtown Kansas City, Mo., in a former Halls Department Store building and will occupy a combined area close to 60,000 sq. ft. on two levels. Crown Center, which is an 85-acre mixed-use shopping/leisure/dinning destination, surrounds the worldwide headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Inc.