A major retail landlord has recently left Santa Monica, as Macerich defaulted on a $300-million mortgage loan and handed over control of Santa Monica Place to the lender. According to a report in WWD, Macerich CFO Scott Kingsmore stated that the property is facing ongoing issues and is currently valued at $264.5 million. The decision was made due to uncertainty about the future of the property.
Macerich had owned Santa Monica Place since 1999 when it was built with hopes of revitalizing Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. However, Connect CRE reported last week that another retail REIT, Federal Realty Investment Trust, also left this market by selling its remaining Third Street portfolio for $103 million.
Earlier this year when Jackson Hsieh became CEO of Macerich he divided their 43 properties into four categories based on performance – from great to bad. Unfortunately for them, Santa Monica Place fell into one of his “bad” categories due to multiple tenant departures during the pandemic.
