June 30, 2010 - Houston, Texas
Houston-based Boxer Property has purchased Charlotte’s Eastland Mall for $2 million, according to a deed filed late Monday. The company purchased the core retail space at the mall, which last sold for $54 million in 1998, but did not buy the four vacant anchor spaces.
The purchase includes the two-story, 512,000-square-foot mall building that sits on 16 acres on Central Avenue, plus nearly 7 acres of parking and several smaller properties surrounding the core building. Boxer will bring in retail and small-office tenants that fit with the diverse nature of Charlotte’s east side, similar to the company’s redevelopment of La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, and PlazAmericas in Houston, Texas.
Eastland, which opened at Central Avenue and Sharon Amity Road in 1975, has struggled in recent years to attract and maintain tenants. It is the Charlotte region’s fifth-largest shopping center, measuring nearly 1.1 million square feet.
Before the sale, the mall was under the control of a holding company overseen by LNR Partners Inc., the special servicer on the loan, which is owned by private-equity fund Cerberus Capital Management. Boxer Property bought the foreclosing property right after the landlord, had asked mall tenants to vacate and will work with Grupo Zocalo, a subsidiary of Boxer property to manage leasing and tenant relationships for the property.
About Boxer Property
Boxer Property Management Corporation a privately held commercial real estate services firm, was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1992 and now is based in Houston, Texas. With a specific focus on under-performing and challenged properties, Boxer Property provides first-class management and leasing services. Boxer has transformed itself into a multi-faceted commercial real estate firm that currently manages more than 10 million square feet of real estate in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Chicago, Cleveland, Hartford, Kansas City and on Long Island for a broad range of property types, including retail, industrial, office, medical and multifamily.
About Grupo Zocalo
Grupo Zocalo, a subsidiary of Boxer Property, was founded in 2003 in Texas to manage, lease, and administer commercial properties in the retail sector. Grupo Zócalo’s focus is to successfully identify and capitalize on opportunities created by demographic changes and trends in the marketplace. By focusing on opportunity investments and catering to under-serviced consumer markets the company provides a one-stop shopping destination where families are welcome to congregate. Grupo Zocalo is responsible for leasing and managing retail properties across the country, including PlazAmericas (Houston), La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth, Plaza Fiesta (Atlanta), Plaza Fiesta (Carolinas), and the North Main Mercado (Fort Worth).