Cypress Equities buys $250M stake in Burbank mall, plans redevelopment

Cypress Equities has acquired a majority stake, or 1 million square feet, in the Burbank Town Center shopping plaza for $250 million and plans to pump an additional $55 million into renovations and upgrades, REAlert reported.

Located around the intersection of East Magnolia Boulevard and San Fernando Boulevard, the center stretches 37 acres — and eight blocks — in Downtown Burbank. The main portion of the mall is 99 percent leased. Anchor tenants include Macy’s, Sears and Burlington.

Cypress is also partnering with the now-minority owner, Crown Realty & Development, on the remaining portion of the plaza, a 206,000-square-foot storefront that IKEA will be vacating. The partners plan on redeveloping the property into a seven-story, mixed-use complex with 1,000 apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail space. The parcel is valued at $35 million. Cypress’ stake in this portion of the center is unknown.

Eastdil Secured represented Crown in the deal, which had been two years in the works. Previously, the 1992-built shopping center was owned by Pacific Retail Properties of El Segundo. The Irvine-based Crown purchased it in 2003 for $111 million. [REAlert] — Cathaleen Chen