4 Recent Retail Property Trades Combine for More Than 3M SF, Plus 4 Mall Updates

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3M SF of Recent Retail Property Trades
W. P. Carey Buys 10-Property Life Time Portfolio
Brixmor Adds Grocery-Anchored Centers in California and Colorado
AlbaneseCormier Buys 714k SF Across 3 States
Primaris Continues Capital Recycling With $154M Calgary Sale
4 Mall Updates Show Investment Momentum and Major Transitions
Fedder Promotes Nathan Raider to President

3M SF of Recent Retail Property Trades

The turn of the year has brought notable transactions across multiple retail classes.

W. P. Carey Buys 10-Property Life Time Portfolio

Net lease REIT W. P. Carey recently purchased a 1.3 million-square-foot portfolio of 10 Life Time lifestyle and fitness centers across nine states for $322 million. At the end of 2025, Life Time was W. P. Carey’s third-largest tenant by annualized base rent. As of Sept. 30, W. P. Carey owned 1,662 net lease properties encompassing 183 million square feet.

Brixmor Adds Grocery-Anchored Centers in California and Colorado

Brixmor recently bought two grocery-anchored retail centers in California and Colorado for $189.2 million. It paid $138 million for the 461,000-square-foot, H Mart-anchored Chino Spectrum Towne Center in California, which is 95% leased, according to CBRE, which represented the seller, MetLife Investment Management. And Brixmor paid $51.2 million to AEW for the 175,000-square-foot, King Soopers-anchored Broomfield Town Centre in Colorado. Brixmor owns four other properties in Southern California and six others in the Denver market.

MORE FROM C+CT: Brixmor Expands in Houston With $223 Million Acquisition of LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch

AlbaneseCormier Buys 714k SF Across 3 States

Retail, office and industrial landlord AlbaneseCormier purchased a 714,000-square-foot portfolio of shopping centers from RCG Ventures: the 374,881-square-foot McGowin Park regional center in Mobile, Alabama; the 152,073-square-foot Oak Brook Square regional center in Flint, Michigan; the 134,798-square-foot Bison Hollow Shopping Center in Traverse City, Michigan; and a 52,302-square-foot center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, occupied by Dick’s Sporting Goods and PetSmart.

Primaris Continues Capital Recycling With $154M Calgary Sale

Continuing its string of dispositions, Canadian retail REIT Primaris has sold Calgary, Alberta’s Northland Village and the adjacent Northland Professional Centre medical and dental office building for 154 million Canadian dollars. The buyer is GWL Realty Advisors, according to the Calgary Herald. Primaris recently redeveloped Northland Village, an open-air retail center whose tenants include Best Buy, Dollarama, GoodLife Fitness, Walmart and Winners. The retail center spans 384,003 square feet, and the office building totals 52,379, according to GWL Realty. The REIT completed $400 million in noncore property sales last year, including the Northland deal, as part of its capital-recycling program.

4 Mall Updates Show Investment Momentum and Major Transitions

Mall Transactions Show Signs of a Comeback

Investors have ramped up their interest in malls, according to Altus Group. Citing data from OpenStreetMap and Reonomy, Altus reported that 38 of the U.S.’s roughly 1,000 operating malls traded hands in single-asset deals during the first nine months of 2025, matching the total for all of 2024. At that pace, more than 50 malls were on track to be sold in single-asset deals in all of 2025, which would mark the third-highest annual total in more than two decades, according to Altus.

The renewed energy propelling mall transactions “could mark an inflection point for the broader retail category. Investors appear to be reengaging with the sector, a trend that mirrors the overall return of large-dollar deals in 2025,” Altus said.

MORE FROM C+CT: From Southdale Center to Gen Z: Why the Core Appeal of Malls Endures

New Jersey Enclosed Mall Will Be Reimagined as Open-Air Center

A 56-year-old enclosed mall in New Jersey is being transformed into an open-air retail center. Redevelopment of the 754,299-square-foot Brunswick Square in the New York City suburb of East Brunswick, New Jersey, began in mid-December. Existing tenants include JCPenney, Macy’s, AMC Theatres, Barnes & Noble and Old Navy. Among the new tenants will be J.Crew, Nordstrom Rack and PGA Tour Superstore. Paramount Realty and Edgewood Properties bought the mall in 2023.

San Francisco Centre Will Close Permanently

Two months after CBRE started marketing it for sale, San Francisco Centre is welcoming its last shoppers. San Francisco’s largest retail center — described as 1.2 million to 1.5 million square feet, depending on the source — will close permanently on Monday, ABC 7 News reported.

The 38-year-old mall has struggled in recent years to attract shoppers and keep tenants. Among the tenants that have exited are Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, H&M and Shake Shack, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Two months ago, the mall’s occupancy rate sat at 9%, according to CBRE. In November, lenders Goldman Sachs and JPMorganChase foreclosed on a more than $560 million outstanding loan tied to the mall and subsequently bought it for $134 million, according to the Chronicle. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Brookfield Properties defaulted on the loan in 2023.

Women’s Apparel Chain Francesca’s Shuts Down Operations

Women’s specialty apparel chain Francesca’s, a staple at U.S. malls, is closing its more than 450 stores. Citing a layoff letter the retailer filed with the Texas Workforce Commission, the Houston Business Journal reported that Francesca’s received a default notice from its lender on Jan. 8, requiring the company to permanently shut down. The Jan. 14 letter said “sudden and unexpected circumstances … made it impossible for the company to remain viable.”

As of Thursday, the corporate website showed that Francesca’s operated 457 stores in 45 states. Founded in 1999, Francesca’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2020. A month later, an affiliate of TerraMar Capital, along with Tiger and SB360 Capital Partners, bought the chain out of bankruptcy for $18 million, according to WWD.

Fedder Promotes Nathan Raider to President

Owner, developer and manager Fedder has promoted Nathan Raider to president. Raider, who joined the company in 1993, most recently was senior vice president and COO. Robert Pollokoff, president and CEO of Fedder since 1996, will stay aboard as chair and CEO. Fedder’s 2 million-square-foot portfolio comprises retail, office and industrial throughout Maryland.