Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield sells Long Island mall for $29.7M

Urban Edge REIT picked up Sunrise Mall in Massapequa

Photo Illustration of Urban Edge CEO Jeff Olson and Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, NY. (Getty, Urban Edge)
Photo Illustration of Urban Edge CEO Jeff Olson and Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, NY. (Getty, Urban Edge)

 

A 1.2 million-square-foot mall in Massapequa, New York, is under new ownership.

Retail REIT Urban Edge Properties announced that it’s acquired Sunrise Mall in Nassau County from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield for $29.7 million, plus as much as $6 million of additional contingent consideration.

The mall is spread out over 77 acres, with anchor tenants that include Macy’s, Sears and Dick’s Sporting Goods. It’s currently just 65 percent occupied.

“Sunrise Mall is a unique asset with a prime location in a dense, attractive region along the southern shore of Long Island,” said Jeff Olson, Chief Executive Officer of Urban Edge. “This acquisition provides a terrific opportunity for Urban Edge to leverage our redevelopment expertise in repurposing underutilized land and creating value.”

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In October, Newsday reported that Urban Edge was in talks with Unibail to acquire the Massapequa mall. The shopping center’s problems predate the pandemic; since 2015, it’s lost several large tenants, including JC Penney and Wal-Mart. Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph S. Saladino told the publication in October that elected officials were interested in seeing the property be redeveloped to function as a community hub, or to bring new jobs to the town.

“We’d like to see this site flourish as a new economic hub to ensure that revenue derived by the school district is never shifted to the residential taxpayers,” Saladino told Newsday.

Urban Edge’s properties include several shopping centers on Long Island, such as Huntington Commons, Burnside Commons and Meadowbrook Commons. Earlier in 2020, it also acquired a large mixed-use shopping center in southern Brooklyn.

The seller, URW, has faced some issues this year as the pandemic has forced malls to shut down. The retail landlord and investor reported that rental income from U.S. operations fell to $464 million in the third quarter, a 39 percent decrease year-over-year. It also reported that it’s operating at a $6.3 billion net loss.