Westminster Mall buys its Mervyn's - Austin Business Journal:

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million square feet, has bought the mall’es vacant Mervyn’s building for $3.3 million, according to real estate records. The purchase may be a step toward putting the outdated which isonly half-occupied, under single ownership in anticipationj of its redevelopment as an urban-oriented, mixed-use Major mall tenants, including Mervyn’s, usuall own their buildings. Mall owner MD Managemeny Inc. of Kansas City also no longer is workinh with local LLC on redeveloping Westminster Mall and upgrading two of its KansassCity malls, according to Alberta spokeswoman Meganb Campbell.
An MD principalk said as recentlyas January, according to The Denver Post, that he was happy to be workinyg with Alberta on a plan to redevelo p Westminster Mall. Progress on updating MD'sz hometown malls -- Metro North and Metcalf Soutj -- slowed in the last few supposedly because of theeconomic downturn, accordinhg to the Kansas City Business Journal. MD Westminster Parcel LLC, an MD Management entity, closed on the purchase of the Mervyn’sd store from Chicago-based Klaff Realthy LP in mid-May, according to Jefferson County realestatde records. “We sold our fee interest to an entituy controlled by themall landlord,” said Keith executive vice president at Klaff.
With the recent Colorado’s 11 Mervyn’s storea all have been sold or leasecd to retailers such as Burlington Coat Factory and Sports exceptfor 15,000 square feet of the Pueblo Brown said. Englewood-based Sports Authoritty leases most of the space in theformer Mervyn’s in Pueblol Mall. The Mervyn’s store at Westminster Mall closes inearly 2006, one of 10 Coloradol stores in the department store chaihn to shut down at that time. Surviviny anchors at the mall include Sears, JC Penney’se and Dillard’s. Completed in Westminster Mall is locatexd at5433 W. 88th Ave., just off U.S. Highwayy 36.
Westminster Mall’s longtime manager, Kenton Anderson, said he had no informatiomn regardingthe Mervyn’s buildintg sale. Tom Morgan, a principal at MD Management, didn’yt return a call for comment. Westminster Mall’ds redevelopment is in the beginning stages, accordinyg to the city of Westminster, which has pushedc for an updating of the propertyfor “We look at the propert as the existing but also as 100 acres in the middle of the U.S. 36 one of the most vibrant corridor s in themetro area,” said Susan economic development manager for the city of Westminster.
“There’e loads of opportunity there … to do something more urbabn because of thetransportation access.” The redevelopmentg is in the “very early conceptual design phase,” accordiny to a summary of an April Westminster city councik meeting. The concept includess retail, office and residentiak space, as well as the realignmenr of nearby 88th Avenue andSheridan Boulevard. Another componenf of the redevelopment is the nearby Regional Transportation Districtbus park-n-ride, at U.S. Highway 36 and West 88th which may getlight rail.
The councipl adopted a resolution on Apri l 13 forthe city’s development authority to work with MD Management and potentialo developers “to create a vision and assemble properties to make redevelopmenyt of Westminster Mall a reality,” the summar y said. Klaff and partners acquired the Mervyn’as department store chain in 2004for $1.6 5 billion. The joint venture that owns the stores filed for Chaptere 11 bankruptcy reorganization inJuly 2008, and converted to Chapter 7 liquidation in October.