Westfield sells Cerritos mall to Macerich, buys Rouse interest in Valley Fair

Two former TrizecHahn malls are changing hands again.

Westfield America said today that it has bought The Rouse Co.’s 50% interest in a San Jose, Calif., mall, and sold a mall in Cerritos, Calif., to The Macerich Co., in separate transactions.

Westfield, Los Angeles, purchased Rouse’s 50% stake in the 1.1 million-square-foot Valley Fair Mall, San Jose, for $107 million. The companies gained control of the center as part of their joint acquisition of the TrizecHahn mall portfolio in 1998. Westfield, which has renamed the center Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair, intends to bring in a joint-venture partner to complete the deal and contribute to the $150 million renovation currently under way at the center.

Valley Fair produced $648 in sales per square foot in 1998, Westfield said.

Also today, Westfield said it will sell its Westfield Shoppingtown Cerritos to Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich for $93 million and the assumption of debt. The 1.3 million-square-foot mall was known as Los Cerritos Center before it was acquired by Westfield in the TrizecHahn deal.

Both deals are set to close by the end of the second quarter.