Starwood Places $1.2B Mall Portfolio on Sales Block

Starwood Capital Group has reportedly hired Eastdil Secured LLC to broker a seven-mall portfolio acquired from Westfield Corp. in 2012. The portfolio, with assets in Chicago, San Francisco and Cleveland, are valued at approximately $1.2 billion.

The malls reportedly up for sale include Chicago Ridge Mall; Metreon in San Francisco and SouthPark Mall in Cleveland, OH. Representatives from Starwood and Eastil declined to comment on the move, but it’s suspected that poor earnings forecasts from department stores, combined with retail bankruptcy filings and competition from internet shopping, are why the portfolio is on the market.

Green Street Advisors LLC notes that it’s becoming more difficult to find buyers for lower-tier malls. Funding is almost non-existent, and the pool of investors is small, the advisory firm noted.