Rockwood Real Estate Advisors Arranges Sale of Northgate Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rockwood Real Estate Advisors (“Rockwood”), a full service real estate investment banking firm, announced today that it has arranged the sale of Northgate Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio on behalf of E3 Advisors, a court appointed receiver. Sold for $21,500,000.00, Northgate Mall is a 915,956 square-foot regional mall located in the Northwest quadrant of Cincinnati in Colerain Township, directly south of Interstate 275. The purchaser is an affiliate of Tabani Group, Inc., a Dallas-based company with holdings in 14 states, including shopping centers, development projects, hotels, and office buildings.

“A key driver to this transaction was providing the buyer with the ability to purchase both the vacant Dillard’s box and former JC Penney parcel. By having the mall, Dillard’s and JC Penney parcels under one ownership, the repositioning possibilities become more realistic and achievable.”

Northgate Mall was constructed in 1971/72 and expanded in 1991 with the addition of Macy’s and a two-level parking garage. The mall has undergone numerous renovations and upgrades, with the most recent improvements occurring in 2007 which included exterior and interior improvements, as well as the removal of the former JC Penney anchor building. The property as a whole (all ownerships) is comprised of approximately 915,956 square feet. Sears (180,260 sf) and the vacant Dillard’s (203,062 sf) are separately owned, and the parcel that was formerly occupied by JC Penney is also separately owned. The collateral represented in this sale consists of 555,696 square feet which includes the 180,000 square-foot Macy’s, 259,066 square feet of in-line space, 50,177 square feet comprised of Famous Labels and 43,391 square feet of outparcel space.

Northgate Mall has been under the control of a court appointed receiver since 2009, and is considered to be “distressed” given the large vacancies and required capital necessary to stabilize the asset. Rockwood provided investors with a “road map” to stabilize the mall by identifying various new tenants who would be a good fit for the market and asset, and by also presenting a plan to gain control of both the former JC Penney parcel and vacant Dillard’s box. Rockwood also facilitated the introduction of investors to Colerain Township Economic Development officials – as the Township’s commitment and support provided additional certainty to the future success of Northgate Mall.

Thomas Dobrowski, Managing Director for Rockwood Real Estate Advisors, arranged the sale and commented on the transaction. “Northgate Mall does not fit into the typical distressed mall category whereby investors question the sustainability of the mall. By presenting investors with a solid strategy to reposition the asset, we were able to preserve value for our client and work towards an expeditious closing.” Dobrowski further elaborated, “A key driver to this transaction was providing the buyer with the ability to purchase both the vacant Dillard’s box and former JC Penney parcel. By having the mall, Dillard’s and JC Penney parcels under one ownership, the repositioning possibilities become more realistic and achievable.”

For more information please contact Thomas Dobrowski – ([e-mail])

About Rockwood Real Estate Advisors

Rockwood is a full-service real estate investment banking firm headquartered in New York with additional offices throughout the United States. Formed in 1991, the firm provides a broad range of research-driven real estate investment banking services and business solutions to institutional and private investor clients on a national and global basis. As of May 2011, Rockwood is a wholly owned subsidiary of CW Financial Services. For more information regarding Rockwood Real Estate Advisors, please visit its website at www.rockwoodrea.com.