News

Lauren Thomas recently interviewed Elliot Nassim, Mason Asset Management, for her story “A risky bet by America’s mall owners: Plucking retailers out of bankruptcy to salvage a pandemic-hit industry”

Two family-owned investment firms that have made a name for themselves in the mall world, Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management, are taking a similar view on investing in retail. 

The two have come together over the years to amass a portfolio of dozens of suburban shopping malls. Their business strategy, in sum, is to acquire distressed assets from either banks or other owners, and refurbish them enough to keep them running. 

Even during the pandemic, they have acquired three malls — Belknap Mall in Belmont, New Hampshire; Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Meriden Mall in Meriden, Connecticut, Mason Asset Management President Elliot Nassim said. 

And they’ve also acquired a local furniture chain, Jennifer Furniture, out of bankruptcy, along with the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based movie theater chain Goodrich Quality Theater, Nassim said, not disclosing the financial terms of those deals. 

“We are looking at investing in more retail chains to become a little more vertically integrated,” Nassim explained. “We believe in the future of brick and mortar.” 

“We look at it as a wonderful opportunity to be involved in a new sector with promising returns,” he added.

To read more, please visit CNBC.

Bankruptcy documents identify the purchasers as “Goodrich Theater Newco, LLC,‘ with Elliot Nassim of Mason Asset Management in Great Neck, New York as the contact person.

The Cadillac News reached out to Mason Asset Management’s public relations team, who confirmed that Nassim, Igal Namdar and VIP Cinemas have partnered to acquire the Goodrich Quality Theaters chain.

Nassim and Namdar are frequent partners in shopping malls, Reuters reported in June of 2018. Indeed, Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty operate several in Michigan, including Flint, Jackson, Muskegon, Saginaw and West Branch.

And now they’re buying into the movie business.

“The plan is to continue operations of the existing theatres and grow the brand’s footprint,‘ said Nassim, founder of Mason Asset Management.

To read more, please visit Cadillac News.

The owner of Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights has taken a step that could make redevelopment of the site more likely.

“The mall’s owner, New York-based Namdar Realty Group, bought a Macy’s store building on the east side of the mall,” says Sonya Sorich of the Sacramento Business Journal. “The purchase also included about 10 acres of parking on the mall’s east side.” 

The move comes as Citrus Heights city officials are crafting a new site plan for the 100-acre mall property, with participation from Sunrise Mall’s owners. Anchor stores at a mall typically own their own properties, and that can pose a significant barrier to any possible redevelopment plans.

To read more, please visit Capradio.

Welcome to Tuesday, loyal readers. Here’s what you need to know today.

Big Sunrise Mall update

Owners of Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights have acquired the property for one of the mall’s anchor stores, increasing the chances for eventual mall redevelopment. Property records show that earlier this month, Great Neck, New York-based Namdar Realty Group acquired the Macy’s store building on the east side of the mall, at 6000 Sunrise Mall Road, for $3.5 million.

To read more, please visit the Sacramento Business Journal.

The largest mall buyer in the country recently snapped up one of Alabama’s oldest malls.

Montgomery’s Eastdale Mall, which opened in 1977, was bought last week by Mason Asset Management, Namdar Realty Group and CH Capital Group.

“Acquisitions are a direct reflection of our evaluation of the potential of a given property and redeveloping those properties to optimal performance is always the goal,” said Elliot Nassim, president of Mason Asset Management. “When it comes to that redevelopment, the partnership works diligently to determine what use for the property will best benefit the surrounding neighborhood and reinvigorate the local community that these malls call home.”

To read more, please visit Business Alabama

South Side leaders hope South Park Mall’s new owners can help reverse the national trend of customers shopping online rather than in person.

Namdar Realty Group – and partners Mason Asset Management and CH Capital Group – closed on the mall deal Monday.

“We are excited about the opportunity to continue adding value to this successful property, really taking it to the next level,” says Elliott Nassim of Mason Asset Management. “Our goal is always to add value to our properties.”

To read more, please visit News 4 San Antonio

San Antonio and Amarillo, Texas — A partnership between Mason Asset Management, Namdar Realty Group and CH Capital Group has acquired South Park Mall in San Antonio and Westgate Mall in Amarillo. South Park Mall spans 663,978 square feet across 48.5 acres. The mall was originally built in 1968 and has been renovated several times, most recently in 2018. The asset was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including anchors JC Penney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Beall’s, Old Navy, Ulta Beauty and The Vitamin Shoppe. Westgate Mall was built in 1982 and has also been renovated several times, most recently in 2017. The mall was 80 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Dillard’s, Beall’s, Premiere Cinema, Shoe Dept. Encore and Forever 21.

For more information, please visit Shopping Center Business

The property owners of the soon-to-be defunct 577,000-square-foot Phillipsburg Mall say they remain committed in redeveloping the site. What it will become, however, remains a mystery for at least a little while longer.

The Long Island, New York partnership of Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management bought the 76-acre mall property in 2013 for $11.5 million, adding to its national portfolio. At the time, the stated intention of the partners was to upgrade the site — but the retail apocalypse already set in around 2010 and kept continuing onward with several empty storefronts popping up at the shopping destination straddling Lopatcong and Pohatcong townships.

“Our goal remains to identify the best solution for the property and its surrounding community,” Nassim said. “Our goal has always been to explore all possible uses for this property for its highest and best use.”

To read more, please visit NJ.com

FLEMINGTON – The borough council has created an ad hoc committee to study the possibility of redeveloping Liberty Village.

The move came after Mayor Betsy Driver received a recent phone call “literally out of the blue” a couple of weeks ago from an executive at Namdar Realty Group which bought the nation’s first outlet mall from the Simon Group last summer.

Namdar and Mason are becoming known for coming to the rescue of distressed malls and other retain properties throughout the United States. Namdar is the owner of the Phillipsburg Mall.

To read more, please visit My Central Jersey