Washington Prime Group Selling Stake of Westminster Mall

A decision by Washington Prime Group to sell its stake in the Westminster Mall in Orange County could put the kibosh on its immediate redevelopment.

The Ohio-based investor is looking to sell its share of the 1.2-million-square-foot indoor mall at 1025 Westminster Mall, which could also impact plans by Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments to revamp its portion, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

A potential sale could stymie Shopoff’s plan to build as many as 1,200 homes.

Washington Prime announced last month it was moving to sell off its stake in a number of properties across the country after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021.

In the past year alone, the company has shed half of its national portfolio, according to the Orange County Business Journal; the other half, including its part in the Westminster Mall, is either already for sale or set to be listed soon.

Irvine-based Shopoff threw down $95 million for a 26-acre portion of the mall property in 2022. The plan was to turn the Macy’s, former Sears space and an adjacent parking lot into a multiuse development with commercial and residential tenants.

The firm acquired the parcel through two separate purchases: $46.3 million for 14.1 acres that included the Sears footprint and another deal for $49 million.

Called “Bolsa Pacific,” the project would add 1,065 rental units and 102 townhomes as well as a 175-room hotel and 25,000 square feet of retail space to the site. If completed, it would also boast 2.5 acres of green space complete with an amphitheater, dog park, pickleball courts and food kiosks.

To bring the project to life, Shopoff teamed up with Orange-based architecture firm AO and Newport Beach landscape architect MJS to design the property. The latest update to the Bolsa Pacific plans was in 2023.

Washington Prime planned to sell its remaining Westminster Mall stake, as The Real Deal reported last month.

Opened in 1974, the indoor shopping complex at 1025 Westminster Mall stands as Orange County’s 18th-largest shopping center with $120.1 million in taxable income for the year ending last June, marking a 1.6 percent dip year over year. That’s a far cry from its sales numbers a decade ago when it was raking in nearly $270 million.

The pending sale, Washington Prime said, is a result of “massive layoffs” and a tightening of its portfolio as it navigates rough financial waters. “WPG is reducing its headcount to reflect the downsized organization,” a spokesperson told the Business Journal.

Other Washington Prime malls like the Scottsdale Quarter in Scottsdale, Arizona, Gateway Shopping Center in Austin, Texas, and Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus, Ohio, are also expected to be purged in the coming months.

— Chris Malone Méndez