ARCADIA, Calif. — In the largest mall transaction since 2018, the Westfield Santa Anita Mall has sold for more than half-a billion-dollars.

Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has sold the nearly 1.5 million square foot mall in Arcadia for $538 million. URW did not disclose the buyer, saying only that it is an established commercial real estate investor.

What You Need To Know

  • Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield sold the Westfield Santa Anita mall in Arcadia for $538 million

  • The half a billion dollar price tag is the largest mall transaction in the U.S. since 2018

  • The sale comes as URW continues to unload its U.S. property assets as part of its deleveraging program and exit out of the states

  • At the time of the sale, the Westfield Santa Anita mall was 96% leased

URW, which owns many flagship malls in Southern California, had no further comment. Eastdil Secured advised URW in the sale of the property.

URW is one of the world's largest property owners, with a portfolio of more than 82 shopping centers and other assets across Europe and the United States valued at $55 billion.

The sale comes as malls and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic catalyzed economic downturn. Government stay-at-home orders and consumers' growing preference to shop online hit malls hard in the early part of the pandemic.

The Westfield Santa Ana mall seemed to have bucked this downward trend. Over the years, the mall adjacent to Santa Anita Park has capitalized on accommodating its growing Asian consumer base. 

The Westfield Santa Anita is 96% leased and posts sales of $611 per square foot, URW officials said. Tenant sales reached 93% of 2019 levels in the first half of this year.

Still, earlier this year, URW officials announced they would begin unloading their U.S. mall assets to focus solely on their European shopping center portfolio.

The sale of Westfield Santa Anita is "part of the group's comprehensive deleveraging program that includes the radical reduction of its financial exposure to the U.S.," URW officials said in a news release. 

URW has sold more than $900 million of its U.S. assets since 2021, including the Westfield Santa Anita, the site of the former Promenade Mall in San Fernando Valley, the Palisade residential building in San Diego, and five other regional properties. 

The company still owns flagship mall assets in Los Angeles, such as the Westfield Century City, Westfield Topanga & the Village, Westfield Valencia and Westfield Fashion Square.