Kansas City, Mo. — Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE: HIW) has agreed to sell the historic, 1.3 million-square-foot Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, largely known as the nation’s first shopping center.
A joint venture of Taubman Centers Inc. (NYSE: TCO) and The Macerich Co. will acquire the mixed-use center for $660 million.
Originally constructed in 1922, Country Club Plaza is a 15-block, 55-acre mixed-use retail and office property in downtown Kansas City. The retail portion of the property includes 804,000 square feet of gross leasable area, and features 45 retailers such as Apple, H&M, Coach, Burberry and Lululemon, as well as restaurants including The Capital Grille and The Cheesecake Factory.
The 468,000-square-foot office portion of the property is comprised of the 10-story Valencia tower, which serves as the worldwide headquarters of Lockton Cos., an insurance brokerage firm, and additional office space located above the ground-level retail.
Eastdil Secured is the agent for the sale of the property, which is 94 percent occupied.
Highwoods acquired Country Club Plaza in 1998 when it purchased the J.C. Nichols Co. for $544 million. The center attracts more than 1 million visitors a year, according to CBRE.
The Taubman and Macerich joint venture is known as Country Club Plaza KC Partners LLC. Each company will have a 50 percent interest in the center, which the companies will jointly manage.
A long-term, fixed-rate loan for approximately 50 to 60 percent of the purchase price is expected to be placed on the property concurrently with or shortly after the acquisition.
The Taubman and Macerich boards of directors have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Highwoods is a publicly traded REIT headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties in cities that include Atlanta, Greensboro, Memphis, Nashville and Pittsburgh.
Macerich currently owns 55 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 50 regional shopping centers.
Taubman Centers is a REIT that owns, manages and leases 23 regional, super-regional and outlet shopping centers in the United States and Asia.
Highwoods’ stock price closed on Monday, Jan. 4, at $43.19 per share, up from $36.24 per share a year ago.
Taubman’s stock price closed on Monday, Jan. 4, at $75.16 per share, up from $70.55 per share a year ago.
— Scott Reid