The European-based parent company that owns the Westfield Valencia Town Center, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, reiterated to shareholders last week that the company plans to continue with a “radical reduction” in its various U.S. properties in the coming years.
The Paris-based real estate company, which reports holding roughly $13.2 billion in assets in the United States, including the Santa Clarita Valley’s largest shopping center, had announced to shareholders in February 2021 that it was beginning its stateside deleveraging.
The news from last week’s shareholder meeting demonstrated that the plan had not changed despite the national economy and country being in better shape since this same time last year, and officials said they hope to shed most of the company’s properties by the end of 2023.
When contacted by The Signal on Thursday, URW officials said they had not released a comment about individual assets. Local Westfield Valencia Town Center representatives deferred comment to their corporate offices.
In a 2021 “Half Year Results” presentation, URW leadership said they had voluntarily foreclosed on four properties in Florida: Westfield Citrus Park, Westfield Countryside, Westfield Broward and Westfield Sarasota.
The square footage in those malls reportedly sold to vendors at $336 per square foot, while their average U.S. portfolio sold at $807 per square foot. The four properties had an average 75% occupancy, while their U.S. portfolio average was 87% occupancy.
In April of last year, despite having previously announced plans to bring a 101,000-square-foot Costco and other amenities to the Valencia Town Center, URW officials said the pandemic had forced them to drop the new development plans on the local shopping center.
