New York–based O’Connor Capital Partners closed on the acquisition of The Shops at Canal Place last week, the high-end shopping mall in the Canal Place complex at the foot of Canal Street.

The 260,000 square foot shopping center was owned by the Berger Company and Ogden Development.  The Sellers had originally listed the complex for sale in 2014 with Eastdil Secured for an apparent listing price of $200,000,000.00.  According to our sources, that asking price represented a 4.5% cap rate.  Assuming the purchase price was close, that could be a record for a Class A asset in New Orleans.

At the time of the listing in 2014, the mall was 98% leased.  The anchor tenant, Saks Fifth Avenue, generated a reported $651/square foot in sales, compared to the average Saks of $512/ square foot. At the time of the listing, the Saks lease for 107,000 square feet ran until 2019.

The transaction closed last Wednesday, according to city records.  The sale included the three-story shopping center as well as the nine-screen Theatres at Canal Place on the third floor.  In addition to Saks Fifth Avenue, other retailers include Tiffany & Co., Armani Collezioni, Brooks Brothers, J. Crew and Banana Republic.

According to sources, the Berger/Ogden partnership obtained a $111 million fixed-rate loan in 2013 which had to be assumed by O’Connor.  The note was interest-only for three years and matures in 2024.

President and CEO of O’Connor Capital Partners William O’Connor said the acquisition was a “rare opportunity to acquire a premier retail property with significant upside potential in a high barrier-to-entry market, in a prime tourist location with millions of visitors annually.”  At the time of the acquisition, the property was 96% leased.

The complex was built in 1979, and Berger and Ogden have owned it for 16 years.

The sale did not include the complex’s 641,000 square foot office building, 438 room Westin Hotel, or the adjacent 1,600-space, seven story parking garage, which the Berger/Ogden partnership still owns.

 

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