Vallco finally under single ownership — Pau's Sand Hill lands last piece of mall puzzle

Silicon Valley Business Journal

From the article:

Vallco Shopping Mall — yes, all of it — is under single ownership for the first time in decades, paving the way for the redevelopment of the long-struggling retail center in the heart of Apple country.

Peter Pau's Sand Hill Property Co. has bought the remaining piece of the mall it did not own — the 600,000-square-foot interior enclosed shopping center — in a long-anticipated $116 million deal that caps one of the most remarkable land assemblages in Silicon Valley retail history.

The final piece of the puzzle comes after I wrote last month that Sand Hill had gained control of the three independently owned anchor stores — J.C. Penney, Macy's and Sears — paying $200 million and floating plans for a "new downtown" to replace the center. That brings the total spend so far to more than $300 million, a down payment on what could be a billion-dollar-plus investment.

"It's pretty hard to do. To get three (major anchor stores) in the same mall — there's no precedent for that. It's unheard of," said Efi Luzon, senior vice president with Intero Commercial, and managing director of the Luzon Team, based in Los Altos, who represented Sand Hill. Luzon would not confirm the price in the latest deal, which I learned from a source outside the deal with knowledge of the transactions.

The sale was finalized as the city of Cupertino contemplates changes to its general plan that could allow the redevelopment of the 1970s-era center into a vibrant hub of office, retail and residential. Sand Hill is asking for city clearance to build up to 2 million square feet of office, 600,000 square feet of retail and 580 residential units, though it has not yet submitted a formal plan. On Wednesday, officials signaled they were ready to grant the Vallco area that much development capacity, a good sign for Sand Hill's aspirations there.

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