Caruso Intends to Own More Shopping Centers
Rick Caruso, the Los Angeles developer known for his luxurious shopping centers, such as The Grove, is on the lookout for more retail properties.
One of those might be the Glendale Galleria, located near his The Americana at Brand shopping center in Glendale, Calif.
In published reports, Caruso was quoted as saying he would love to buy the Glendale Galleria and make major improvements to its infrastructure. That’s possible now that the developer has more money to invest.
On April 27, Caruso Capital Partners announced a joint venture with global investment firm TPG Capital. Caruso-TPG Partners has a $750 million investment fund to acquire shopping centers and mixed-used projects along the West Coast.
One of those—down the road—could be the Glendale Galleria, which is an archrival to Caruso and his shopping-center development arm, Caruso Affiliated. The two went to court after the Glendale Galleria filed a lawsuit several years ago trying to stop development of The Americana at Brand.
General Growth Partners, owner of the Glendale Galleria and the second-largest mall operator in the United States, challenged the city of Glendale’s study of the project site. The lawsuit was dropped in 2005 after losing in the state Court of Appeal. The $324 million Americana opened two years ago.
But General Growth, based in Chicago, has been having financial difficulties. It filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and was seeking reorganization of $27 billion in debt-making acquisitions, making it the largest real estate debt bankruptcy in U.S. history.
In an e-mailed statement, General Growth said the Glendale Galleria is not for sale. “The tremendous successes at Glendale Galleria speak for themselves,” said David Keating, senior director of corporate communications at General Growth. “Glendale Galleria sees more than 26 million shoppers a year. It recently opened the first three-level Target store in the country, along with the opening of nearly two dozen new stores over the past two years. hellip; Glendale Galleria is a great property and one we’re very proud of.”
Jennifer Gordon, a Caruso spokesperson, said the shopping-mall developer knows the Galleria is not for sale but would be interested in looking at it if it came on the market.—Deborah Belgum
