CenterMark Properties
CenterMark, formerly known as May Centers, was a mall development company owned by a consortium of Westfield Holdings Ltd.,
Formerly | May Centers, Inc (1947-1992) |
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Mall Development |
Founded | 1947 |
Defunct | 1996 |
Fate | Acquired by Westfield Group |
Successor |
History
The company previously developed malls under the name May Centers, Inc., which was then a subsidiary of the May Department Stores Company. The first shopping center that May Department Stores developed was an open-air shopping center that first opened in 1947 that later became the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles.[1] This shopping center grew around the second branch store of the May Company California division that opened on this site in 1947.[2]
A few years later, the May Department Stores built and opened in 1955 the
In 1958, May Department Stores formed a subsidiary to handle their shopping center development which they called May Shopping Centers, Inc.[4]
During the mid-1980s, the May Department Stores noticed that their company's stock was vastly undervalued and that the company was at risk of becoming a hostile takeover target,
The following year Prudential sold CenterMark to a consortium headed by
Under May Department Stores ownership, the company obtained new retail projects only by creating them on previously undeveloped land. Under successive owners, the company did not develop any new properties nor purchase any new properties from other owners.
Fate of some of the former May Centers/CenterMark properties
The majority of the properties that were initially developed by May had become very successful[according to whom?] and had become a part of Westfield and remain so as of January 2016. However, not all of the original May properties were sold to Westfield and a few properties that Westfield purchased were later sold.
Laurel Plaza is a special case. At the time of the sale of May Centers, Laurel Plaza also housed the headquarters for May Company California in addition to a regional store, so May Department Stores retained this property. May was trying to enlarge this mall in 1988.[13] Because of damage incurred during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, May and its successor Macy's were unable to dispose of the property until 2014.[14]
In 1988, May Centers almost sold La Jolla Village Square to T&S Development,[15] but the deal fell apart at the last minute. Four years later, May Centers was finally able to sell La Jolla Village Square to Gordon/Beck Ventures in 1992 after a number of years of trying to locate a buyer for this particular property.[16][17]
In July 1992, May Centers as the newly renamed CenterMark, sold the ailing Northland Shopping Center in Missouri to San Antonio-based Spigel Properties for an undisclosed amount.[18]
Westfield sold most of its St. Louis-area malls to Chattanooga-based
In 2006, Westfield sold four former May Center malls to Centro Watt, an American company by that time owned by another Australian-based company Centro Properties Group.[21] These properties include Eagle Rock Plaza, Enfield Square, West Park Mall, and Westland Towne Centre. Economically, these locations were not performing as well as they should.[22] In 2012, Madison Marquette Retail Services was hired to manage these properties.[23]
In November 2015, Westfield sold Westfield Carlsbad, formerly Plaza Camino Real, to Rouse Properties.[24]
On December 18, 2015, Vancouver Mall along with some other U.S. Westfield properties were sold to Centennial Real Estate Company, and "Westfield" was removed from the mall's name.[25] Any other references to Westfield online or at the property were removed the same day. Mall management was retained.
List of projects
This article is in prose. is available. (January 2019) |
Some of the malls that May Centers built included:
- Alton Square Mall, Alton, Illinois (opened 1978)
- Annapolis Mall (now Westfield Annapolis), Annapolis, Maryland(opened 1980)
- Arlington, Virginia(reopened 1986)
- Los Angeles, California(opened 1973)
- Eastland Center, West Covina, California(opened 1957)
- Enfield Square, Enfield, Connecticut (opened 1971)
- La Jolla, California (opened 1979; sold 1992 to Gordon/Beck Ventures)[26]
- Meriden Square (now Westfield Meriden), Meriden, Connecticut(opened 1971)
- Mid Rivers Mall, St. Peters, Missouri (opened 1981)
- San Diego, California(opened 1961)
- Montgomery Mall (now Westfield Montgomery), Bethesda, Maryland (opened 1968)
- Northland Shopping Center (now Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard), Jennings, Missouri(opened 1955)
- Plaza Bonita (now Westfield Plaza Bonita), National City, California(opened 1981)
- Plaza Camino Real (now The Shoppes at Carlsbad), Carlsbad, California(opened 1969)
- St. Clair Square, Fairview Heights, Illinois (opened 1974)
- St. Louis, Missouri(opened 1963)
- Canoga Park, California(opened 1964)
- Vancouver Mall, Vancouver, Washington (opened 1977)
- West County Center, Des Peres, Missouri (opened 1969)
- West Covina Fashion Place (now Plaza West Covina), West Covina, California (reopened 1975)
- West Park Mall, Cape Girardeau, Missouri (opened 1981)
- Westland Center, Lakewood, Colorado (opened 1960)
References
- ^ Folkart, Burt A. (April 23, 1992). "David May II; Scion Helped Family Store Chain Grow". Los Angeles Times.
- Newspapers.com.(subscription required).
The May Co. at 12:30 p.m. today will open its new Crenshaw store, Crenshaw Blvd and Santa Barbara Ave., in a three-story building of contemporary design with the emphasis on architectural simplicity. The building, 324 by 207 feet, provides almost six acres of floor space, for sales and service, May Co. officials pointed out last night as final preparations were made for today's opening.
Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest - Newspapers.com.
Executives of St. Louis department stores and public officials toured the eight acres of Famous-Barr Co.'s new Northland branch store last night in a preview showing of the modern structure at Lucas-Hunt road and West Florissant avenue, Jennings. The store, its three upper levels faced with red brick, is the center of a $12,000,000 shopping center, which will serve the rapidly-growing population of north St. Louis county. Shelves and display cases on all floors, including the basement of the store, were filled with merchandise in readiness for the store's opening at noon tomorrow.
- Newspapers.com.
May Shopping Centers was established last month as a wholly owned real estate subsidiary of the May Department Stores Co.
- New York Times.
- New York Times. February 2, 1985.
- ^ Keppel, Bruce (August 18, 1988). "$550-Million Deal to Help May Stores Fend Off Takeovers". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Apodaca, Patrice (August 4, 1992). "Making Over Topanga Plaza : Retail: The successful Woodland Hills center undergoes a $45-million renovation now rather than suffer a possible dip in sales". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "May Centers now called CenterMark". Southeast Missourian. May 3, 1992. p. 1D – via Google News.
- New York Times.
- ^ "Prudential Selling Its Interest in 19 Malls, 9 in Southland". Los Angeles Times. November 4, 1993.
- ^ Ziemba, Stanley (June 29, 1996). "General Growth Sells Stake". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b Pyle, Amy (April 29, 1988). "N. Hollywood Partnership Buying Land for Huge Mall". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Vincent, Roger (January 12, 2014). "Laurel Plaza shopping center in North Hollywood is sold". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Kraul, Chris (March 30, 1988). "La Jolla Village Square Being Sold; Expansion Planned". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Kraul, Chris (June 30, 1992). "Developer Plans Major Renovation of La Jolla Village Mall : Shopping: $50-million project will shift the center's emphasis toward discount retailing". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Kraul, Chris (July 21, 1992). "AMC Planning 12-Plex Theater at La Jolla Mall". Los Angeles Times.
- Newspapers.com.
A retail redeveloper from Texas has bought Northland Shopping Center in Jennings with plans to convert the property into a discount center. The buyer, Spigel Properties of San Antonio, closed the deal late Wednesday with CenterMark Properties of St. Louis. Terms were not disclosed... Separately, Spigel has an option to buy the Famous-Barr store at Northland from its owner, May Department Stores Co. of St. Louis. Spigel Properties President Stanley Spigel said he will exercise that option. But Jim Abrams, a spokesman for May Co., added Wednesday that the Famous at Northland will remain open until October 1993, when a new Famous is set to open at Jamestown Mall in far north St. Louis County.
- St. Louis Business Journal. November 3, 1996.
- St. Louis Business Journal. October 17, 2007.
- ^ Heschmeyer, Mark (May 11, 2006). "Australian Firm To Buy a Half Billion in Westfield Malls: Centro Watt Enters Mall Business; US Platform Positioned To Continue Growth". CoStar Group. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07.
- ^ "$240Mln Mall-Portfolio Loan Moved to Special Servicing". Commercial Real Estate Direct. May 27, 2014.
- ^ Miller, Melissa (April 30, 2012). "Progress continues with Isle of Capri casino construction". Southeast Missourian.
- San Diego Union-Tribune.
- ^ Oliver, Gordon (December 18, 2015). "Vancouver Mall gets a new owner, old name: In $1.1 billion deal, shopping center is again Vancouver Mall". The Columbian. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "La Jolla Mall Completed". Los Angeles Times. November 4, 1979. p. H27.
The $10-million, 212,000-square-foot La Jolla Village Mall has been completed. May Co. has opened a two-story, 173,000-square-foot department store... designed by Charles Kober and Associates.
Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest. - ^ "Laurel Plaza Shop Center Opens Today". Los Angeles Times. March 7, 1968. p. sf6.
Laurel Plaza, May Co.'s shopping center, is scheduled for opening today at Laurel Canyon and Oxnard St. The 600,000 square foot shopping center is completely enclosed and air conditioned. Besides the May Co. store, it has 30 specialty and high fashion shops, an ice skating rink, restaurants, snack facilities and a central mall.
Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.