Site Centers is putting all of what's left of its shopping center portfolio on the block after selling $3.7 billion in retail properties during the past two years. The move comes after spinning off its convenience properties, also known as strip malls, about a year ago.
The Beachwood, Ohio-based real estate investment trust on Thursday said it has just 11 fully owned properties remaining and holds interests in 11 joint venture properties. Site is in contract negotiations for the sale of four of the shopping centers as well as its stake in one of the joint venture assets. The REIT didn't identify those properties.
The retail landlord also said it is "in the process or intends to commence marketing all other remaining wholly owned retail properties in the near future, subject to market conditions."
Site began shedding its traditional shopping centers in October 2023 after it announced it was spinning off a new company, Curbline Properties. Site billed Curbline as the first public real estate company focused exclusively on convenience properties. Site became bullish on strip malls — viewing them as good performers — because of post-pandemic hybrid work habits, with people able to make quick stops at them on days when they work from home.
New York-based Curbline had roughly 80 of those properties — loosely defined as retail sites without a big-box or grocery store to anchor them — when it began trading on Oct. 1 last year. And it's been adding others to its holdings. As of Sept. 30, Curbline owned 162 convenience shopping centers.
Site, in addition to its shopping center sales, has declared over $380 million of distributions to shareholders via special dividends since the Curbline spinoff was announced, according to David Lukes, who is president and CEO of both companies.
Lukes didn't immediately respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment Friday.
Most recently, Site said it had closed on the sale of two shopping centers in New Jersey, one in Pennsylvania and one in Ohio for a total of $263.6 million.
Curbline shares, which were distributed to Site stockholder the day of the spinoff, have outperformed the FTSE NAREIT Shopping Center Index by over 1,550 basis points, "creating additional value by unlocking a unique and focused growth vehicle,” Lukes said in a statement.
Site's board expects to declare distributions to shareholders from sale proceeds, subject to payment of outstanding debts, ongoing expenses and net of reserves for known and contingent liabilities and expenses during the subsequent windup of the company's business.
Site said its plan to sell its remaining wholly owned properties does not preclude its consideration of a corporate transaction or the sale of its platform.
In a regulatory filing this week, Site reported that it amended employment agreements with Chief Financial Officer Gerald Morgan and General Counsel Aaron Kitlowski in order to retain them during a period that could include a liquidation or dissolution or sale of substantially all of the company's assets