CBL is looking to redevelop the Sears sites at Hamilton Place mall and Northgate Mall.
CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. has bought the Sears Department store at Hamilton Place Mall and the Sears Auto Center at Northgate Mall as part of a $72.5 million purchase and leaseback deal involving seven Sears facilities at CBL malls in six states.
The Chattanooga-based shopping mall developer announced today that it is buying the Sears stores and auto centers and is leasing them back to the retailer under 10-year lease agreements. The purchase will provide additional equity for Sears and provide CBL with control of these locations for future redevelopment.
“We are pro-actively transforming our market-dominant shopping centers to meet the changing preferences of consumers,” CBL President Stephen Lebovitz said in a statement today. “This transaction provides CBL with the opportunity to redevelop prime real estate and attract exciting new uses at some of our best shopping centers. The leaseback of the real estate by Sears will generate income to CBL and gives us control over the timing of closures while we finalize our redevelopment plans at each location.”
Sears and its Kmart subsidiary have closed or announced plans to close 200 stores in the current fiscal year.