PREIT (NYSE: PEI) announced that it continues to drive the quality of its portfolio to new heights having executed agreements of sale and received non-refundable deposits for the sale of Washington Crown Center in Washington, PA and the office building it retained at Voorhees Town Center. Details including pricing and proceeds will be made available upon closing. The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions and are expected to close before the end of the third quarter of 2016.
The Company also continues to press forward with optimizing its property portfolio and has decided to market Beaver Valley Mall for sale. In addition to this, PREIT continues its focus on remerchandising and redevelopment opportunities that maximize the appeal to shoppers. This effort includes introducing sought after and new-to-portfolio tenants, proactively replacing department stores and capitalizing on opportunities to redevelop high quality assets to drive future growth.
"We are looking toward our future with optimism as we continue to transform our platform with our fourteenth lower-productivity mall now under contract," said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "It has been a top priority for PREIT to improve our portfolio so we can deliver strong operating results and allocate capital into our higher-quality assets that are expected to translate into superior risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders."
Washington Crown Center, located in Washington, PA, is anchored by Bon-Ton, Macy's, Gander Mountain and Sears. As of March 31, 2016, the property generated sales per square foot of $318 and non-anchor occupancy of 87.9%.
The decision to market Beaver Valley Mall was made following the pivotal announcement from Shell Chemical that it is moving forward with development of a multi-billion dollar petrochemical complex just a mile and a half from the mall, which will bring several thousand jobs to the region. This development presents an opportunity to maximize the value of the property upon sale while preserving capital for other investments.
PREIT, through continued execution of its robust transformation agenda, has generated proceeds in excess of$645 million and has driven over 20% sales growth since June 2012.
About PREITPREIT (NYSE:PEI) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership and management of differentiated shopping malls. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the company owns and operates over 25 million square feet of retail space in the eastern half of the United States with concentration in the Mid-Atlantic region's top MSAs. Since 2012, the company has driven a transformation guided by an emphasis on balance sheet strength, high-quality merchandising and disciplined capital expenditures. Additional information is available at www.preit.com, on Twitter or LinkedIn.
