Southdale Center, Edina, Minnesota, as it appeared in 1960
Southdale Center, shown looking south down the main corridor, is expected to get its second new owner in two years. (Duane Braley/Star Tribune, 2005)
Th world's first modern enclosed shopping center is getting a new owner: the company that defined and refined the outlet mall. Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota (outside Minneapolis) is being sold to discount mall giant Mills Corporation.
The Mills Corp. has an agreement with the Blackstone Group, the New York investment firm that has owned Southdale since 2002, to take control of the Edina mall and the Southridge Mall in Greendale, Wis., for $400 million, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. Southdale is expected to account for about $225 million of that price.
Southdale was opened in 1956 as the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center in the United States. The 1.3 million-square-foot mall, now anchored by Marshall Field's, J.C. Penney and Marshalls, has thrived, though its place at the top of the Twin Cities shopping hierarchy changed with the 1992 opening of the Mall of America.
Southdale continues to be regarded as a strong performer. For example, the Marshall Field's there is the top performer in the Field's chain, with sales of $440 per square foot. At the same time, there's a consensus among retail observers that the nearly 40-year-old mall needs redevelopment to stay competitive.
Among other moves, Mills is expected to bring in new department store anchors to freshen the retail mix. Speculation in retail circles is that Neiman Marcus has expressed interest in Southdale. (more)
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