Despite retirement from retail, Starwood buys West Palm Beach mall for $ 130 million – Commercial Observer

Although they have moved away from retail in recent years, Starwood Capital Group bought a West Palm Beach mall for $ 130 million, according to property records.

The deal comes just weeks after the Miami Beach-based investor sold a mall in the suburbs of Miami for $ 149.4 million. Over the past two years, in light of the pandemic, which has accelerated the continued decline in retail value, Starwood sold 22 of its 30 malls, in July 2021.

“With the continued deterioration caused by COVID, the commitment of much more capital required to successfully reposition many of our assets has become unsustainable at our current cost base.” Marc Deason, CEO of Starwood, said Bloomberg.

Maybe Starwood, run by the billionaire Barry sternlicht, is not completely done with retail.

Unlike the indoor mall near Miami, the West Palm Beach Mall is an open-air neighborhood mall. Anchored by a Whole foods grocery store, the 303,705 square foot complex includes big box stores, such as Nordstrom Support, Bed bath and beyond, TJMaxx and Ulta Beauty.

Whole Foods Mall, located at 1821 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, is the closest popular grocery outpost to Palm Beach, an island city with one of the richest zip codes in the country. movie star Sylvester stallone, former president Donald Asset and black stone CEO Stephen schwarzman are all owners of Palm-Beach.

The seller of the shopping center, Clarion Partners, purchased the property for $ 116.7 million in 2015, by file.

Starwood secured a $ 79 million loan from Wells fargo. A representative for Starwood and Clarion did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Julia Echikson can be reached jechikson@commercialobserver.com.