Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust liked the results of the "de-malling" of the shopping center.

06:35 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 14, 2006

BY JOHN HILL
Journal Staff Writer

LINCOLN -- Lincoln Mall has been sold for about $60.5 million to an Illinois-based real estate investment company, according to records in Town Hall.

Darryl Cater, spokesman for Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust Inc., parent company of the new owners, said the plan was to leave the shopping center like it is.

"We don't buy to change things," he said. "We buy things because we like them. . . . We tend to buy them and hold them. We're not planning may major changes."

Officials with the sellers, WP Realty, which had managed the property through LB Lincoln Mall Holdings LLC, could not be reached for comment.

As of March 31, according to Inland Western's filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the company owned 294 properties collectively worth about $8.3 billion in 38 states and one Canadian province. Of those properties, 276 were wholly owned by the company.

Cater said the deal was negotiated by G. Joseph Cosenza, a company principal and the one in charge of acquisitions. He said Cosenza "liked the elephants: Target, Marshall's, Super Stop & Shop, HomeGoods." The addition of a 16-screeen movie theater made for "a lively shopping center."

Inland Western was also impressed by the results of the "de-malling" of the mall, Cater said. WP Realty rebuilt the complex, eliminating most of the interior access to the old mall's stores, switching to entrances that face the parking lot.

"The age of the indoor mall was the 1980s, shop 'til you drop," Cater said. "Now it's all about being able to drive up and go in and get what you want." He said virtually all of Inland Western's shopping centers are designed that way.

"Demalling fits into our sort of property," he added. "It's a reason it's a good fit for Inland."

Town Planner Albert V. Ranaldi Jr. said he was sorry to see WP Realty leave town.

"I hope that the new owners are as cooperative as the past owners," he said, "and they continue with their excellent upkeep and marketing."

WP Realty took over as the controlling owner of the 61-acre shopping center in late 2002. At the time, Lincoln Mall, on Route 116 near the interchanges with Route 146 and Route 295, had been deteriorating for years, as such anchors as Caldor and Cherry Webb & Touraine went bankrupt or moved out. It was also losing ground to new malls such as the Crossing at Smithfield in Smithfield, Providence Place in Providence and Emerald Square in North Attleboro.

WP Realty specializes in taking over undervalued properties, renovating them and then reselling them. The company completely rebuilt the western half of the 600,000-square-foot complex, and with the help of a property tax deal with the town, attracted national retail giant Target as its second anchor, to complement the Super Stop & Shop. WP added a 16-screen movie theater and smaller buildings that attracted restaurants such as Chili's and Starbucks, transforming it into a thriving shopping center.

Town Administrator Sue P. Sheppard said the $60.5-million price tag for the complex vindicated the town's decision to give Target the tax discount in exchange for building in Lincoln.

"I thinks it's part of a natural progression," she said. "We always knew that WP bought and refurbished them. I think it's good and it speaks to the fact that the Target deal was worthwhile."

jhill@projo.com / (401) 277-7381