CBRE buys stake in three malls as Brookfield closes on GGP deal

The malls are Cumberland Mall, in Atlanta; The Parks Mall at Arlington (Texas); and Ridgedale Center, in Minnetonka, Minn., reports The Wall Street Journal. CBRE bought the stakes from Toronto-based Brookfield Property Partners, which retains an interest in all three formerly GPP-owned properties.

Brookfield, meanwhile, is closing on the $15 billion purchase of the two-thirds of GGP that it did not already own, even as it seeks venture partners to invest in the 125-property portfolio, the newspaper reports. 

These deals are happening just as major retailers are reporting their biggest sales gains in a decade, or longer, which is in turn boosting the performance of retail real estate. All three malls in the CBRE deal have potential to generate higher rents, said David Morrison, CBRE Global’s chief investment officer for the Americas, speaking to the newspaper.

"Class-A malls were trapped in the idea that malls are transforming for the worse," Morrison said. "People are starting to understand that there are differences between malls that are thriving and malls that are struggling."